M 57

The smoke ring nebula in Lyra. A summertime favourite and classic example of a planeary nebula. The nebula is the outer envelope of the small central star visible in the frame. Just visible to the lower left is the faint, barred spiral galaxy IC 1296. Sum of five 100 s exposures on September 17, 1999 using the 0.31 m F/4.8 and CB245 detector.