Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, M 57 and IC 1296

As dawn approached on May 8, 2006, astronomer Stefan Seip carefully watched Fragment "C" of broken Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 approach M 57 - the Ring Nebula, and faint spiral galaxy IC 1296.
Of course, even though the trio seemed to come close together in a truly cosmic photo opportunity, the comet is in the inner part of our Solar System, a mere 0,5 Light-Minutes (LM) or so from Seip's telescope located near Stuttgart, Germany, planet Earth.
The Ring Nebula (upper right) is more like 2000 LY distant, well within our own Milky Way Galaxy. At a distance of 200 MLY, IC 1296 (between the Comet and the Ring Nebula) is beyond even the Milky Way's boundaries. Because the Comet is so close, it appears to move relatively rapidly against the distant stars. This dramatic telescopic view was composited from two sets of images; one compensating for the Comet's apparent motion and one recording the background stars and nebulae.