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The Dumbbell Nebula M27 was the first planetary nebula ever discovered. On July 12, 1764, Charles Messier discovered this new and fascinating class of objects, and describes this one as an oval nebula without stars. We happen to see this one approximately from its equatorial plane (approx. left-to-right in our image); from near one pole, it would probably have the shape of a ring, and perhaps look like we view the Ring Nebula M57.

This planetary nebula is certainly the most impressive object of its kind in the sky, as the angular diameter of the luminous body is nearly 6 arc minutes, with a faint halo extensing out to over 15', half the apparent diameter of the Moon. It is also among the brightest.and can be seen in 10x50 binoculars under moderately good conditions.

The bright portion of the nebula is apparently expanding at a rate of 6.8 arc seconds per century, leading to an estimated age of 3000 to 4000 years.

 

Photographs and astronomical descriptions courtesy of NASA and AURA/STScI

Tales of the Immortal Night ©2003, J.J. Kuhl

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