The Dumbell Nebula M27 In All It's Glory; As Seen Through Clear New Jersey Skies

 

This image of the planetary nebula M27 (a.k.a. the Dumbell Nebula) taken by Ron Gattie,is about 1360 light years from Earth and at apparent magnitude +7.5 isn't quite bright enough to see by eye ~ even in the darkest skies. 

But the C14 scope at St. Joseph High School shows not problem getting these rich colors even in a Bortle 6 sky. At that distance, the Dumbell appears to be 3 light-years in diameter, or just a light-year short of the distance between Earth and our nearest star Proxima Centauri.

Nice shot Ron.

Keith