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| Image stack of NGC 6853 (M27) captured by Znith Astronomy Observatory | Malta |
The Dumbbell Nebula is found in the constellation Vulpelca. It is a test-bed for the theories of planetary structure because the intricate details are easily observable by professional astronomers.
This Nebula is up to 8 minutes of arc across and is bright enough to be identified by binoculars. It would stretch approximately halfway from the Sun to Alpha Centauri.
Its setting against the Milky Way background is really stunning. The above image shows the entire structure with the 14th magnitude central white dwarf, which has a temperature of 160,000 K and a luminosity of a few hundred times that of the Sun.
If you observe well, the nebula shows a good degree of chirality (I borrowed this term from my University organic chemistry lecture notes :-) in that the lower left part of the nebula can be twisted and folded onto the upper right side and maintain symmetry.
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| Inset showing detail captured by the Hubble Space Telescope |
I have included an inset on the lower left part of my image. This overlay is a close-up image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. To give my readers a glimpse of what's in this ionised gas, I invite them to take this opportunity and immerse deep into this ionised gas and see the incredibly intricate detail which exists:
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| Part of the interior of M 27 (Source: NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team; STScI and NASA) |
This Hubble Space Telescope image reveals a gaseous structure that is a common occurrence in planetary nebulae. The knots we can see in the above image are dense, dusty regions surrounded by the hot ionized gas emitting light at various wavelengths. The most common source of ionization is high-energy UV radiation emitted by the central hot star.
These dense clumps and regions are able to attract further matter, and eventually will become dense enough to form new stars. The remaining material is then believed to form planets and other planetary system objects. What a splendid object to study!