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Observing Dumbbell Nebula (M27)
The Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1360 light-years. It was the first such nebula to be discovered, by Charles Messier in 1764.
What Dumbbell Nebula is
The Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1360 light-years. It was the first such nebula to be discovered, by Charles Messier in 1764. At its brightness of visual magnitude 7.5 and diameter of about 8 arcminutes, it is easily visible in binoculars and is a popular observing target in amateur telescopes.
How to observe it
This is a fainter target that rewards aperture and dark skies. A 150 mm or larger telescope from a site away from town lights shows it best, and averted vision helps.
It lies in the constellation Vulpecula. To find it, learn the constellation first, then star-hop from its brighter stars with a finder or a wide-field eyepiece before switching to more magnification.
Magnification is your telescope's focal length divided by your eyepiece's focal length. For an extended object like this, start low to frame it, then step up in power only if the object takes it. Use the Fit My Telescope tool to see the exact magnification, true field and exit pupil each of your eyepieces gives.
How it looks at the eyepiece
What you see at the eyepiece is fainter and less colourful than a photograph, because the eye takes in light in an instant while a camera builds it up over minutes. Expect a grey glow rather than the vivid colours of an image, and let your eyes dark-adapt for at least twenty minutes to see the most.
This object is the Dumbbell Nebula, a large bright planetary nebula in Vulpecula, which makes it a rewarding target once you have found it.
Frame it at low to medium power first with a wide true field, then step up the magnification only if the object stays sharp and the sky is steady. The Fit My Telescope tool shows the magnification, true field of view and exit pupil each of your eyepieces gives in your telescope, so you can pick the one that frames the object best.
The object in NASA imagery
NASA has imaged this object. One example in the NASA Image and Video Library is titled Close-up of M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, from JPL.
An aging star last hurrah creates a flurry of glowing knots of gas that appear to be streaking through space. This closeup image of the Dumbbell Nebula was taken by the JPL-built and designed WFC3 camera, onboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
NASA imagery is in the public domain. What you see through an eyepiece is fainter and mostly grey, since the eye does not accumulate light the way a long-exposure camera does, but knowing an object's true shape helps you recognise it at the telescope.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Object type | planetary nebula |
| Constellation | Vulpecula |
| Apparent magnitude | 7.5 |
| Catalogue | Messier 27 (M27) |
Object data from Wikidata (CC0) and standard Messier catalogues.
What magnification suits M27?
Open the Fit My Telescope toolSee the true field and exit pupil each eyepiece givesFind telescope eyepiece on eBayaffiliateRelated
Sources: Dumbbell Nebula (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA) · Wikidata (CC0) · NASA Image and Video Library: PIA04249 (public domain)