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Messier 27 (Vulpecula)

Object image
Fig.1 - The first planetary nebula ever discovered: Messier 27 in Vulpecula, photographed with a 16-inch f/4.5 Dob on an equatorial platform. Messier 27 is the result of an old star that has shed its outer gas layers.
Object name: Constellation: Coordinates: Apparent size: Visual brightness:
Messier 27
(= NGC 6853)		 Vulpecula 20h00m / +22°43' 8.0' x 5.7' 7.5 mag

The planetary nebula Messier 27 (NGC 6853, "Dumbbell nebula") in the constellation of Vulpecula. The gaseous remains of a red giant star are 1,360 light years from Earth and were discovered by Charles Messier in 1764 (source: Wikipedia).

Forty-nine 3-minute exposures (147 minutes total exposure) at gain 100, taken on August 20 / 21, 2023, were added for this shot with Astro Pixel Processor (APP) software and the final image processing was done in Photoshop. Darks, flats, bias and darkflats were used.

Equipment: Cooled ASI 2600MC Pro camera, TeleVue Paracorr Type II coma corrector, 16" f/4.5 "Ninja" dobsonian telescope riding on a dual-axis Tom Osypowski equatorial platform, Lacerta MGEN autoguider, Lacerta off axis system (field of view comparison: image of the moon with the same equipment).

Search chart
Fig.2 - Search chart for Messier 27. Map © 2022 "The Mag-7 Star Atlas Project", www.siaris.net. Map is slightly modified. The map can be downloaded here.
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