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Photographer:

Jon Greif

Location of Photo:

Nerpio, Spain, remotely from La Jolla, CA, USA via iTelescope.net

Date/Time of photo:

August 24, 2019, at 10:30 pm local time

Equipment:

Planewave 318 mm reflecting telescope and imaging system, PixInsight 1.8.6 software

Description:

Messier 27 (M27), also known as the Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula. The Dumbbell Nebula, discovered by Charles Messier in 1764 was given the name Dumbbell by the English astronomer John Herschel, who observed the nebula in 1828 and compared its shape to that of a dumbbell. M27 lies at an approximate distance of 1,360 light years from Earth. Planetary nebulae are formed when giant stars die and eject their outer envelopes, exposing the hot core of the star, which then ionizes the surrounding cloud of expelled material with ultraviolet light. The clouds, which keep expanding, dissipate into the surrounding space. The many colors of planetary nebulae are a function of the chemical makeup of the expanding gases. This image, shot on August 24, is the result of 80 total minutes of exposure time through the 318 mm iTelescope.net reflecting telescope in Nerpio, Spain, done remotely from La Jolla, CA, and processing with PixInsight 1.8.6 software.

Website:

http://skyandtelescope.org/author/jgreif/

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