M-76 (NGC-650/651) A small planetary nebula located in the constellation of Perseus. It is sometimes called "The Little Dumbbell Nebula", as is somewhat resembles a miniature version of the larger planetary nebula M-27. M-76 was discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1780 and included in Charles Messier's catalog as number 76. It is about 2500 light years from Earth and is 1.5 light years in diameter.
This image, acquired on September 17, 2015, is a 1-1/2 hour integration of 6 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 degrees 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.