M27 The Dumbell Nebula

The Dumbell Nebula (M27) a "Planetary Nebula". Planetary Nebulae have nothing to do with planets but the term was coined by William Herschel when he discovered several examples that to him looked similar to the planet Neptune. They are generally round and the brighter ones are somewhat blue green in color when viewed through amateur scopes which does indeed make many of them look like Neptune. Planetary Nebulae are the remains of dying stars. They are formed when a star casts off it's outer layers in the process of becoming a white dwarf. M27 is a relatively bright, and large example of a planetary nebula. It is visible in some binoculars in dark skies and scopes of nearly any size even somewhat light polluted skies. Because of it's size and shape M27 does not look like Neptune or any other planet but it's brightness and size makes it realatively easy to see in small scopes.

Details:

Imaged on 7/29/2005 at 11:49 PM Central Time from Fordland, MO

Equipment:

Camera: Canon 300D (unmodified) at Prime Focus
Imaging Scope: 8” F4.9 Orion Reflector
Guide Scope: None
Guiding: None
Mount: Losmandy CG-11

Image Information:

1 Frame, 90 Seconds @ ISO 800 + Avg of 5 Darks
No flat or bias frames
Focused Captured and Processed with Images Plus 2.5