At a distance of around 700 light years from Earth, the Helix Nebula is one of the closest planetaries... With an apparent size in the sky close to that of the Full Moon, it is also extremely large with a diameter of about five light years. Though difficult to observe with small telescopes because the light is 'smeared' across a large area, Hubble images have made it famous and given rise to the popular nickname 'Eye of God.'
