The Ring and I

The Ring Nebula and I go way back. Despite my lousy star charts, it was still the first deep sky object I ever found. I’d been looking for M57, as it’s also designated, with my 75-mm f/15 Tasco refractor for weeks without success until I finally swept up the 8.8-magnitude treasure between Beta (β) and Gamma (γ) Lyrae. Wow, was that exciting! It was 1968 and seeing that tiny, surreal oval with its dark central hole for the first time ignited my passion for deep sky observing.

I also wondered what it might look like through a larger scope. Would I be able to see its famously difficult central star? I proceeded to order a mirror-making kit from Edmund Scientific — an event that ushered in my aperture fever.

“The Ring was very outstanding, as it was in the darkest portion of the sky; it was readily found. There seemed to be a little detail in the Ring itself. Some portions appeared a bit brighter than others. No central star