M76 = NGC650 & NGC651 ( 1h42.4m +51°34´, 11.5 mag. )


Little Dumbbell Nebula in Perseus was discovered by Mechain in September 1780 and Messier observed it on October 21, 1780. In long exposure images, this planetary nebula displays large, faint outer loops. Its distance is now estimated at 3,900 ly.

M76 is considered to be the toughest Meesier object - you will need a telescope to spot it about 1° N of f Persei (see finder chart below).

The above image was acquired on September 15, 1998 from Sooke, BC. Cookbook 245 LDC CCD camera was used on Ultima 8 f6.3 telescope autoguided with Cookbook 211 LDC CCD camera on piggybacked 500mm f8 telephoto lens. It is composed of white exposures (9 x 240 sec.) as well as cyan, magenta and yellow-filtered integrations (4 x 240 sec. each) combined with AIP4WIN. Color image was then adjusted in Lab color space using 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