Wreaths placed around dying stars, - that's how some have described planetary nebulae like these. The Helix Nebula is about 3 light years in diameter. It is located low in the sky (looking from the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere) to the east of the Milky Way.  The Helix Nebula is the nearest planetary nebula to us at about 450 light years away in the constellation Aquarius. It's too dim to be seen with binoculars, but if you could it would be about half the size of the moon. There are actually two or maybe even three rings here, and it is a continuing subject of research and speculation how one sun like star, in it's death throes, created this complex and beautiful nebula. Our own sun will eventually blow off it's outer layers to produce a ring  nebula too.

10" F6.3 Schmidt Cassgrain reflector, Canon 300D at Prime focus
 600 sec, ISO 800
 6 photos averaged together, then brightness and contrast enhanced, cropped to fit screen