APOD 2.8

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110108.html

I'm pretty sure we have actually observed the Helix nebula on one of our stargazes. NGC 7293 is located within the constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer, which is 700 light-years away from Earth(though one of the other links says 450, and that the distance is very uncertain.) It is the only planetary nebula for which a parallax could be obtained by ground-based observations! Its apparent size covers an area of 16 arc minutes diameter, one of the largest known. The nebula is an emission nebula. The white dot in the center is the star undergoing the aging responsible for this nebula.