230724 M27 "Dumbbell" nebula
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click image to enlarge
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ASTRO:
type=Planetary Nebula mag=7.4 const=Vulpecula dist~1400 ly size=5 ly IMAGE: location=EB Driveway BrtlCls=4 moon=34%, WxCr exposure=CMOS OSC; (8.5h) Total Opt L-Pro: 60x240s (4.0h), G100 Opt L-eXtrm: 45x360s (4.5h), G100 EQUIPMENT: camera=ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro optics=ES102 w1.0x fltnr, FL=714mm, f/7.0 filters=Optolong L-Pro LPS, Optolong L-eXtreme Duo NB mount=Celestron AVX guiding=Orion 60x240mm wZWO ASI224MC SOFTWARE: acquisition=Stellarium, APT, PHD2, processing=PixInsight, RCAstro, PhotoshopCC, LrC |
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Is this what will become of our Sun? ...Quite possibly. The first hint of our Sun's future was discovered in the 'Period of Enlightenment', inadvertently in 1764 by early French Astronomer, Charles Messier who was compiling what would become his famous list of diffuse objects, not to be confused with comets. The 27th object on Messier's list, now known as M27 or the Dumbbell Nebula (also known as the Apple Core Nebula, and NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula (nebulosity surrounding a white dwarf star) in the constellation Vulpecula (the "Fox"). It was the first such nebula to be discovered, by Messier.
At a distance of about 1400 light-years from Earth, it takes light about that long to reach us from M27. We now know that in about 6 billion years, our Sun will shed its outer gases into a planetary nebula like M27, while its remaining center will become a white-hot dwarf star and strong source of X-rays. M27's central star is a white dwarf progenitor and is estimated to have a size larger than most other known white dwarfs. Its mass is estimated to be 0.6x that of our Sun.
Understanding the physics and significance of M27 was well beyond Charles Messier and his 18th century science. But even today, many things remain mysterious about planetary nebulae, including how their intricate shapes are created. What we know is, the colors red and blue indicate the presence of elemental hydrogen and oxygen, respectively.
The core of the Dumbbell appears shaped like a prolate spheroid and is viewed from our perspective along the plane of its equator. In 1992, Mexican Astrophysicist Marco Arturo Moreno-Corral while holding a research seat at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, computed that M27's rate of expansion angularly was, as viewed from our distance, appx 2.3 arcseconds per century. From this, an upper limit to M27's age is determined to be appx 14,600 years old.
Like many nearby planetary nebulae, the Dumbbell contains cometary knots. Its central region is marked by a pattern of dark and bright cusped knots and their associated dark tails. The knots vary in appearance from symmetric objects with tails to rather irregular tail-less objects. Similar to the Helix and Eskimo nebulae, the heads of the knots have bright cusps which are local photoionization fronts.
At magnitude 7.5 and core diameter of about 8 arcminutes, the Dumbbell is easily visible with binoculars, making it one of the brightest planetary nebulae in the sky. It can be easily seen in a dark sky (Bortle 3 or better), just above the small constellation of Sagitta. At its brightness of visual shape and size, it is a popular observing target with amateur telescopes. The "wings" expand its longest dimension to appx 13 arcminutes, and while generally not observable, they represent a favorite detail sought-after by amateur astrophotographers.
At a distance of about 1400 light-years from Earth, it takes light about that long to reach us from M27. We now know that in about 6 billion years, our Sun will shed its outer gases into a planetary nebula like M27, while its remaining center will become a white-hot dwarf star and strong source of X-rays. M27's central star is a white dwarf progenitor and is estimated to have a size larger than most other known white dwarfs. Its mass is estimated to be 0.6x that of our Sun.
Understanding the physics and significance of M27 was well beyond Charles Messier and his 18th century science. But even today, many things remain mysterious about planetary nebulae, including how their intricate shapes are created. What we know is, the colors red and blue indicate the presence of elemental hydrogen and oxygen, respectively.
The core of the Dumbbell appears shaped like a prolate spheroid and is viewed from our perspective along the plane of its equator. In 1992, Mexican Astrophysicist Marco Arturo Moreno-Corral while holding a research seat at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, computed that M27's rate of expansion angularly was, as viewed from our distance, appx 2.3 arcseconds per century. From this, an upper limit to M27's age is determined to be appx 14,600 years old.
Like many nearby planetary nebulae, the Dumbbell contains cometary knots. Its central region is marked by a pattern of dark and bright cusped knots and their associated dark tails. The knots vary in appearance from symmetric objects with tails to rather irregular tail-less objects. Similar to the Helix and Eskimo nebulae, the heads of the knots have bright cusps which are local photoionization fronts.
At magnitude 7.5 and core diameter of about 8 arcminutes, the Dumbbell is easily visible with binoculars, making it one of the brightest planetary nebulae in the sky. It can be easily seen in a dark sky (Bortle 3 or better), just above the small constellation of Sagitta. At its brightness of visual shape and size, it is a popular observing target with amateur telescopes. The "wings" expand its longest dimension to appx 13 arcminutes, and while generally not observable, they represent a favorite detail sought-after by amateur astrophotographers.