M57 - The Ring Nebula

The weather gods smiled on me this evening and allowed me to get the telescope set up.

The summer sky offers a wealth of material for me to track, but up until tonight I had not been able to even attempt to do so.

After being informed by the telescope that my "alignment might be poor" (and yes, I did hear the sarcastic voice of the telescope in my head when I read the message) I decided to track straight to M57 before my equipment decided it wasn't going to play along.

M57 is a deep sky object, known also as the Ring Nebula. It is a planetary nebula, approximately 2300 light years from us. Calculations date this nebula as 'relatively' young, placing an approximate age of 6000 to 8000 years since its inception.

To put the distance into context, the sun is 8.3 light MINUTES away from us, at a distance of 93 million miles (on average).

I was pondering this evening, in terms of submitting an entry to the Digital Planet competition, on what the internet means to me.

Of late, it has been the source of information, guidance and advice that has helped me get started on this journey into astrophotography. It has been the medium through which some of my images have been noticed by important people at the BBC and which led to a little moment of absolute joy on my part at having my work acknowledged and shown to a wider audience, most especially Sir Patrick Moore.

But it's more than that. When I stand out and look at the universe, I am overwhelmed by the sheer size and scale of what I am looking at. Then I look back in at myself, at my little universe and realise that although I am perhaps insignificant in the overall scheme of things, I am not to those who I am surrounded by and instrinsically linked to via this unseen 'net' that connects us all.

I know that many people consider the internet to be a place full of sinister people with ill intentions. I know that there are many who fall into that category. But I also know that the internet has provided me with connections to people who I lost touch with, people who I would never have found again, who are far away from me but who seem so close on a daily basis. It provides me with a daily connection to friends, family and colleagues, who know the trials, tribulations, successes and joys that come my way as time goes by. I have met new people who I would never have otherwise encountered and established friendships with people, as yet not met in the flesh, but with whom I have connected through shared interests and points of view.

So on my 1500th, I share with you my little geeky moment of joy at having imaged something new, because the people I have met here will know and understand what that means to me.

Thanks for being there for me through the last 1500 - I very much appreciate your comments and your support. The fact that you stick around and keep coming back for more says more about all of you than it does about what I write or what I shoot!

xx Hebs xx