Astrophotography by Torsten Mueller


Messier 76

NGC 650/651
Planetary Nebula
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Object Information

Description wikipedia: "The Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76, NGC 650/651, the Barbell Nebula, or the Cork Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Perseus. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included in Charles Messier's catalog of comet-like objects as number 76. It was first recognised as a planetary nebula in 1918 by the astronomer Heber Doust Curtis. However, there is some contention to this claim, as Isaac Roberts in 1891 did suggest that M76 might be similar to the Ring Nebula (M57), being instead as seen from the side view. The structure is now classed as a bipolar planetary nebula (BPNe). Distance to M76 is currently estimated as 780 parsecs or 2,500 light years, making the average dimensions about 0.378 pc. (1.23 ly.) across."
Type Planetary Nebula
Brightness 10.1 mag (vis)
Apparent Size 2.7' x 1.8'
Distance 0.0025 MLy

Exposure Information

Date 2016-10-15
Location Plomin (Croatia)
Optics GSO 12" RC f/8
Camera Canon EOS1200Da
Integration 20 x 240 sec (Color ISO1600)
(1.33 h total)