Displaying items by tag: Planetary Nebula

Planetary nebula Messier 27, often called the Dumbbell Nebula. Located in the constellation of Vulpecula. The term planetary is a misnomer as it has nothing to do with planets. The outer layer of the star is expelled into space when a star goes through a red giant phase. The outer layers are then ionized by the remaining core as it becomes a white dwarf star. Something our Sun may become near the end of its life cycle. 

NGC 2392 is a planetary nebula located 6,500 light years away in Gemini. Sometimes called the Eskimo Nebula or Clown Face nebula as it resembles a head with a parka or other object around it.

NGC 246 is a planetary nebula located in Cetus, commonly called the Skull Nebula due to its resemblance of a skull.

Messier 76 is a planetary nebula located in Perseus. Sometimes referred to as the little Dumbbell Nebula or Barbell Nebula. Spanning around 1.2 light years across and located some 2,500 light years away makes it one of the more challenging Messier objects.

One of these lights is not like the rest, tiny NGC 7662 aka The Blue Snowball. It is a planetary nebula located in the constellation of Andromeda. The bright star in the top left corner is 13 And.

Annotated image follows...

NGC 6781 is a planetary nebula located in Aquila. It's outer shells blown off from the central star in its transition from red giant to white dwarf spans some two light years across.

NGC 7008 is a planetary nebula located in Cygnus. it is sometimes called the Fetus Nebula. The shell is unusual in that it appears to have two different shells. One possibility that it was a binary star system with two different shells formed from each of the stars as each star with through the same red giant phase.

M57 also called the Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula (planetary nebula have nothing to do with planets). They are formed when a star near the end of its evolutionary life expels its outer layers as it shrinks down to the white dwarf stage. The planetary nebula name comes from the early days when nebula such as this looked like planetary disks to the early observers.   

Sometimes called the Oyster Nebula, NGC 1501 is a planetary nebula located in Camelopardalis (The Giraffe). The central star shed its outer layers and those layers are now illuminated by the central star. The central star is also reported to be a pulsating variable star with an extremely short period of brightness changes.

Messier 57 is a planetary nebula located in the constellation of Lyra. Often referred to as the Ring nebula as it resembles a small ring visually in a telescope. A planetary nebula is formed when a star in the latter stages of its life swells up into a red giant phase and the outer layers are expelled into the surrounding space as the star contracts down to a white dwarf. The ionizing radiation causes the surrounding gas to fluoresce.

Independently discovered by Charles Messier and Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix in January 1779.

Imaged with the ES127 refractor and the Atik314L+ mono camera.

Also visible in this highly stretched version are several background galaxies.