Dumbbell Nebula
What is Dumbbell Nebula?
Nebulae· Distance 1,360 ly. The first planetary nebula ever discovered, by Messier in 1764. Its bright dumbbell (or apple-core) shape floats in Vulpecula inside the summer Milky Way, and it is bright enough for binoculars.
📍 Visible from where you are right now — computed in your browser
bearing · altitude · rise time · best time tonight
Where Dumbbell Nebula is in your sky right now: https://nowsky.org/solar/sky?sel=dumbbell nebula — location and time set automatically, no login.
Its place in the sky
A nebula, in the direction of Vulpecula, spanning about 8 arcminutes of sky — 0.3 times the width of the full Moon.
Distance and scale
| Distance | ~1,360 ly |
|---|---|
| Size | ~2.9 ly across (radius 1.4 ly) |
| Type | planetary nebula |
| Constellation | Vulpecula |
Figures are representative approximations. Source: compiled from NASA and IAU public data.
Discovery and name
The first planetary nebula ever found (Messier, 1764); Herschel called it the dumbbell.
Frequently asked
- How far is Dumbbell Nebula from Earth?
- ~1,360 ly.
- What kind of object is Dumbbell Nebula?
- planetary nebula.
- Where in the sky is Dumbbell Nebula?
- In the direction of Vulpecula.
- Where is Dumbbell Nebula in the sky right now?
- Open the sky view for your location and time and it shows the position in the sky right now.
Why a dumbbell — the Ring Nebula seen from the side
The Ring and the Dumbbell are close to the same kind of object seen from different angles. The shell a dying star sheds is usually more like a barrel open at both ends, or a doughnut; looking down its axis one sees a ring, and from the side, two lobes joined by a waist — a dumbbell. The Dumbbell's two bright lobes are the thick walls of the barrel, and the narrow waist is where the ends are open.
Spectroscopy supports the picture. Gas at the waist shows two overlapping components, one approaching and one receding, while the bright lobes move sideways — the motion of a barrel lying on its side and expanding. Much of the variety in the shapes of planetary nebulae comes down to viewing angle in this way; the rest is real difference, made by companion stars and magnetic fields.
The nebula in depth
The Dumbbell Nebula (M27) was found by Charles Messier in 1764, the first planetary nebula on record. About 1,360 light-years away and shining at magnitude 7.5, it is among the brightest of its class. The two bulging lobes suggested a dumbbell; in photographs it can also look like an apple core.
The central star is a white dwarf of about 85,000 K and one of the largest white dwarfs known. The gas it shed roughly ten thousand years ago is still spreading at around 30 km/s, layered in green oxygen light and red hydrogen light. The knotty structures found here were later seen in the Helix as well, revealing a common feature of planetary nebulae.
In the Sky view, look inside the Summer Triangle, above the small constellation Sagitta between Albireo in Cygnus and Altair in Aquila. Under dark skies binoculars alone show a small hazy spot, and a small telescope makes the dumbbell shape obvious. It passes nearly overhead on summer and early-autumn evenings.
Related
Figures are representative approximations. Simulated positions use J2000 mean elements.