Description

The Little Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula which, unlike its larger “brother” M27 in Vulpecula, is much fainter.
In fact it is one of the fainter objects in the Messier catalog.

M76 can be found in the constellation Perseus.
Although discovered in 1780, It took until 1918 unil it was first recognised as being a planetary nebula.
The nebula is now classed as a bipolar planetary nebula (BPNe).

Other versions

Previous/older images:

Sep 27, 2008 – Canon 20D (10″ Newt. 2h)

Image data

Name M76 – The Little Dumbbell Nebula
Type Planetary nebula
Constellation Perseus
Right ascension 01h 42m 24s
Declination +51° 34′ 31″
Distance 2.500 ly
Other designations NGC 650/651