| Telescope / Lens | Celestron 11″ SCT OTA |
| Mount Type | G11 Gemini V3 |
| Camera | ST8XE |
| Filters | CFW8a Custom Scientific LRGB |
| Film | CCD |
| Exposure | LRGB 115 minutes; L: 60, R:15, G:15, B:25 |
| Processing | CCDSoft, AIP4Win, Photoshop CS2 |
| Date | 8-16-2001 |
| Location | Eagles Rest, 15 miles South of Dexter, Oregon 122° 44′ 07″ 38″ W – 43° 50′ N |
| Conditions | 2500′ magnitude 6+ Skies; Clear & Steady |
The Dumbbell Nebula M27 NGC6853 resides in the constellation Vulpecula. It lies just west of Cygnus the Swan, at a distance of 980 light years. The Dumbbell is a remnant of a nova, spotted by Charles Messier in 1764. The gases of which continue to spread outward from the cataclysmic event. M 27 shines at an overall magnitude of 8.1 and is 15.2′ arc minutes in size. It is about half the diameter of the moon. It derives its name from the sphere of gas surrounding the small remnant of the central star, forming a “dumbbell type” shape. This object is readily visible in small telescopes and can be seen with binoculars as well.
At a distance of 1,360 light years, the Dumbbell (also called” Apple Core”), because of its brightness and close proximity, it is a nice object to observe in modest sized telescopes. It is estimated to be 9,800-14,000 years old.
This image was capture using a Celestron C11 f/10 Schmidt Cassegrain (SCT) on a Losmandy C11 Equatorial Mount.