The Ring Nebula is a small planetary nebula located about 2,567 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. Despite that misleading name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets. They’re what happens when a dying star, not massive enough to collapse fully into a black hole, sheds off most of its mass, leaving behind only a tiny white dwarf star. The sun’s death will result in a planetary nebula. It’s only 230″ in diameter, making it quite a tiny target, and is mag. 8.8.
JML Astrophotos 