This is my third attempt at imaging the Dumbbell.
The first was in 2014 when I shot 1 hour of data and
the second, in 2018, I managed 2.7 hours. At 7.3 hours, this is the deepest I have shot the Dumbbell by a considerable margin. The Dumbbell is also known as the apple core nebula as the brightest part of the nebula looks like a mostly eaten apple. I personally think The Butterfly would be a more fitting name given the shape made by the outer, most faint, part of the nebula. This is the first time I have been able to pull out part of this outer nebula.
The Dumbbell Nebula (also known as Messier 27, M 27, or NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1227 light-years. The Dumbbell was the first planetary nebula to be discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. At its brightness of visual magnitude 7.5 and its diameter of about 8 arcminutes, it is easily visible in binoculars. The central star, a white dwarf progenitor, is estimated to have a radius of 0.13 light seconds. This is larger than most other known white dwarfs.
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