Image of the Month
M-27 (NGC-6583) is a large, bright planetary nebula located in the constellation of Vulpecula (The Fox). It is commonly called "The Dumbbell Nebula" due to the two opposing rounded lobes and the narrow waist of the brightest portion of the nebula. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764 and added to his catalog as number 27. It lies at a distance of 900 light years from Earth and is 2 light years in diameter. It is formed by an immense shell of gas that is being expelled by a dying star, which is now a white dwarf. It is just visible at the center of the object.
This image, acquired on July 31, 2013, is a 40 minute integration of 4 minute exposures through the Celestron C-11 at f/2 using the HyperStar III imaging system and the Starlight Express SXVR-H694C color CCD camera operating at -10 detrees below ambient temperature and binned 1 X 1. Guided, captured and combined using Maxim DL5 Pro. Post processed using PhotoShop CS2, Gradient XTerminator, StarShrink, Carboni's Astro Tools and NoiseWare.