M27 = NGC6853 ( 19h 59.6m +22°43´, 8.1 mag. )


Dumbbell Nebula was discovered by Messier on July 12, 1764. One of the finest planetary nebulae, it is located 815 ly away and measures 2.5 ly across. Blue central star (13.5 mag.) has surface temperature of 85,000K and possibly forms binary system with 17 mag. companion. Calculation based on the expansion rate of M27 estimate its age at approx. 48,000 years. It is visible in binoculars 3°15' N of g Saggitae (see finder chart below).

The above image was taken on June 20 and 21, 1998 from Sooke, BC. Cookbook 245 LDC CCD camera was used on Celestron Ultima 8 f6.3 telescope autoguided with Cookbook 211 LDC CCD camera on piggybacked 500mm f8 telephoto lens. Six white exposures (120 sec. each) as well as cyan, magenta and yellow-filtered integrations (4 x 120 sec. each) were processed with AIP4WIN software and adjusted in Lab color model with Corel PhotoPaint 8.

North is to the right.


Map created in Guide 7.0 - 7°45' x 7°45'. North is up.


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© Jan Wisniewski