Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Vulpecula (Vul)  ·  Contains:  Dumbbell Nebula  ·  M 27  ·  NGC 6853  ·  PK060-03.1
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M 27 - The Dumbbell Nebula with wings, James E.
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M 27 - The Dumbbell Nebula with wings

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M 27 - The Dumbbell Nebula with wings, James E.
Powered byPixInsight

M 27 - The Dumbbell Nebula with wings

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Description

The Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula in Vulpecula at a distance of about 1360 light years.  It appears shaped like a prolate spheroid (rugby ball or American football shape)  and is viewed along the plane of its equator.  In 1992, Moreno-Corral et al. computed its expansion rate - as  viewed from our distance -  of no more than 2.3 arcseconds per century.  This rate implies an age of 14,600 years. Its central region is marked by a pattern of dark and bright cusped knots and their associated dark tails similar to the Eskimo Nebula and Helix Nebula.  (Wikipedia)

Another DSO that is bright and seemed like it would  be easy to process.  However, as others have found out, this Messier object can be quite difficult when trying to get a decent end result.  The OIII data was bright but with a blown out core  and fairly bright wings while the Ha data - mostly the outer wings - was much fainter.  I wasn't fond of the traditional straight HOO combine that generated a lot of bluish-teal color in the wings and wanted a deeper blue.  The HOO combine using PixInsight's PixelMath was composed of a synthetic green channel formula combining Ha, OIII and RGB (blue) - to get more blue than teal; red combined Ha and RGB (red) for more red and less magenta; while blue combined OIII and RGB (blue) for more blue.  Thanks to fellow NOVAC member John Kroon for an additional method of combining Ha with RGB I wasn't familiar with that greatly helped with achieving the end result you see (thanks John!).

Taken over several nights:   July 3, 14, and 27; August 8, 10, 20 and 23, 2021.

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