The “Perfect” Circle

The “perfect” circle has always been a mystery to this art student. As any artist will attest, it is near impossible to freehand a “perfect” circle. Personally, I think there is a certain charm to a lopsided, almost circle, it gives it character.

Something as beautiful and “perfect” as the Ring Nebula, the best known star in the northern sky, has been uncloaked as something less than “perfect”. It looks like a sphere, but is a stretched hourglass. The shape is created when exhausted stars emit their nuclear fuel. The outer layer is shed making the array of colors and a less than perfect sphere.

Stefan Heutz is the an astro-photographer that accurately captured the beauty in the hourglass shape of the Ring Nebula. And from one artsy-fartsy to another, thank-you.

The “perfect” circle has always been a mystery to this art student. As any artist will attest, it is near impossible to freehand a “perfect” circle. Personally, I think there is a certain charm to a lopsided, almost circle, it gives it character.

Something as beautiful and “perfect” as the Ring Nebula, the best known star in the northern sky, has been uncloaked as something less than “perfect”. It looks like a sphere, but is a stretched hourglass. The shape is created when exhausted stars emit their nuclear fuel. The outer layer is shed making the array of colors and a less than perfect sphere.

Stefan Heutz is the an astro-photographer that accurately captured the beauty in the hourglass shape of the Ring Nebula. And from one artsy-fartsy to another, thank-you.