In addition to providing education on space and astronomy, the Gunnison Valley Observatory’s volunteers have taken startling photographs of space objects like Messier Object 57 (M57) – also known as the Ring Nebula for its strinkingly colorful, ring-like appearance.

M57 is considered a prototype of a planetary nebula and is located in the constellation Lyra just south of its brightest  star – Vega.  First identified by Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix in 1779, it was also identified and cataloged by Charles Messier.   The nebula is located approximately 2300 light years from earth with a visual magnitude of 8.8v.

This image was taken at the Gunnison Valley Observatory on October 25th of 2008.