Object Type: Planetary nebula (Type 3+2)
Constellation: Vulpecula
Magnitude: 7.4
Size: 8.0' x 5.7'

M27 is one of the two most famous planetary nebulae in the northern sky, along with M57, the Ring Nebula. It was the first planetary nebula discovered, on July 12, 1764, by Charles Messier. The central star is magnitude 13.5, and can be glimpsed in a large aperture telescope at high power. The distance to M27 is not precisely known; estimates range from 490 to 3500 light-years. In a moderate-sized instrument it is a beautiful object, with a distinct bi-lobed shape, resembling that of an apple core.

Equipment: Meade 14" LX200R/Astro-Physics CCDT67 telecompressor/ST-10XME/Astrodon LRGB filters/Paramount ME
F-ratio: f/6.5
Exposure: LRGB: L 8 x 5 minutes, binned 2x2; R 8 x 5 minutes; G 8 x 5 minutes; B 8 x 5 minutes; RGB binned 3x3
Date: August 26, 2006
Location: Landers, California, USA
Technical Notes: Individual exposures were obtained using CCDAutoPilot2 and then sigma combined. The RGB image was created in Registar 1.0. A high-pass filter of 8 pixels was selectively applied to the bright portions of the luminance image.