© Josep M. Drudis-2016, Mount Lemmon Sky Center, AZ, USA.
M27 is also called the Dumbbell Nebula, due to the structure that can be seen in RGB images, like the one on the right. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. This nebula has an approximate age of 10,000 years, according to spectroscopic measurements, expanding at a speed of 31km/sec. It is a typical planetary nebula, with a white dwarf in its center. This star has a mass of about 60% of our Sun and about 5% of its diameter. It is quite hot (about 85,000K) and it emits, mainly, in the non-visible part of the spectrum (this is the reason for such a hot star to be so faint while being not that far away: about 1,500 light years). The surrounding halo is very faint and it is best imaged through Halpha filters.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): M 27, Dumbbell Nebula
Type: Planetary Nebula
RA: 19h 59m 35s
Dec: +22º 43’ 03”
Constellation: Vulpecula
Size (arcmin): 12×10
Magnitude: +7.1
Distance: 1,500 ly
Image
Date: October 2015
Location: Sky Center, Mount Lemmon, AZ, USA
Size (arcmin): 22×22
Telescope: Schulman, 32” f/6.7
Camera: SBIG STX16803 (4096x4096pix)
Guiding: Astrodon MonsterMOAG off-axis guider
Total exposure: 47h20m (L: 11h40m; RGB: 13h40m; Ha: 22h)
Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2016 and PixInsight