Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Vulpecula (Vul)  ·  Contains:  Dumbbell Nebula  ·  HD345444  ·  HD345446  ·  HD345449  ·  HD345450  ·  HD345451  ·  HD345452  ·  HD345453  ·  HD345454  ·  HD345469  ·  M 27  ·  NGC 6853  ·  PK060-03.1
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Messier 27 - Dumbbell Nebula, Darius Kopriva
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Messier 27 - Dumbbell Nebula

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Messier 27 - Dumbbell Nebula, Darius Kopriva
Powered byPixInsight

Messier 27 - Dumbbell Nebula

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Image processed using free competition data from Roboscopes.  Entry is open to all, well worth checking out for anyone looking for dark sky data to hone their processing skills on.

The Dumbbell Nebula (also known as the Apple Core Nebula, Messier 27, and NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula (nebulosity surrounding a white dwarf) in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1360 light-years. It was the first such nebula to be discovered, by Charles Messier in 1764. At its brightness of visual magnitude 7.5 and diameter of about 8 arcminutes, it is easily visible in binoculars and is a popular observing target in amateur telescopes.

The Dumbbell Nebula appears shaped like a prolate spheroid and is viewed from our perspective along the plane of its equator. In 1992, Moreno-Corral et al. computed that its rate of expansion angularly was, viewed from our distance, no more than 2.3 arcseconds (″) per century. From this, an upper limit to the age of 14,600 years may be determined. In 1970, Bohuski, Smith, and Weedman found an expansion velocity of 31 km/s. Given its semi-minor axis radius of 1.01 ly, this implies that the kinematic age of the nebula is 9,800 years.

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Messier 27 - Dumbbell Nebula, Darius Kopriva

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