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The Dumbell Nebula '05
Messier Catalogue #27

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DESCRIPTION
In 1764, French astronomer Charles Messier sighted this gorgeous cosmic cloud which he described as an oval nebula without stars. Cataloged as M27, it is now popularly known as the Dumbbell Nebula, not for its substandard academic performance but for the elongated shape, like a bar with weights on each end, which first caught Messier's eye. Messier 27 an excellent example of a gaseous emission nebula created as a sun-like star runs out of nuclear fuel in its core. Source: APOD


Constellation: Vulpecula - Distance: 1,250 Light Years
RA: 19h 59m 46s - DEC: +22d 43m 39s - Magnitude: 8.10 - Apparent Size: 8.0' x 5.7'
Date Taken: 6-29-05
Telescope: Celestron C9.25
Camera: SBIG ST10XME
Mount: Software Bisque Paramount ME
Filters: Astrodon CRGB
Guider: Self Guided

L 30 X 300 sec @ 1x1
R 16 X 300 sec @ 2x2
G 16 X 300 sec @ 2x2
B 16 X 300 sec @ 2x2

Image Aquired with CCDAutoPilot
Processed with CCDStack and Photoshop CS2