Object Information:                  Messier 27  (NGC 6853),
                                                Magnitude  -  7.3v,
                                                Constellation -  Vulpecula,
                                                Distance -  300 light years,

Description:   Messier 27 is widely considered to be the finest planetary nebula in the sky.  It is certainly one of the largest and easiest to observe in an amateur telescope.  When observed through the eyepiece of the typical amateur telescope, this object appears as a large disk that is pinched in on its east and west sides, thus the common name of the "Dumbbell Nebula". Messier 27 is estimated to be approximately 1.5 light years wide [easily encompassing our entire solar system] and is something on the order of 20,000 years old.

The nebulosity, which is the visible part of Messier 27, was created from the central star visible in this image when the star expend the hydrogen fuel at its core.  It entered a "giant" phase where its outer layers expanded and the star ejected up to 25% of its total mass.  Planetary nebula can be composed of several shells of expanding gas.  The visible part of Messier 27 is an expanding shell of stellar material that is set aglow by the central star which has since become a very strong source of ultraviolet radiation.  The central stars of planetary nebula are among the hottest stars known.

Imaged at:                                San Diego Astronomy Assn. observing site at Tierra Del Sol - San Diego County, California;
                                                Elevation - 3750 feet

Equipment:                               Optics - Takahashi MT-160 6.25 inch classical Newtonian reflector at f/6.3,
                                                Mount - Losmandy G-11 with SkyWalker Servo drive,
                                                Camera - Santa Barbara Instrument Group (SBIG) ST-7E NABG CCD,
                                                Focal Reducer/Field Flattener - none,
                                                Filter - none,

Exposure Information:              May 18, 2002
                                                Sum of fifteen, 180 second exposures,
                                                Guided with the SBIG STV,

Image Acquisition Software:     CCD Soft Ver. 5,

Image Processing Software:      Image calibration - AIP for Windows; Image registration and stacking - MIRA AP 6.03;  Final processing - Photoshop 6.

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