Finally, some clear sky and possibly more clear weather in Florida in the following days. This is my first time utilizing this new setup, and I'm extremely pleased with the results. This test run only manages 1.5 hours of data. Messier 27 was the first discovered planetary nebula. On July 12, 1764, Charles Messier discovered it and characterized it as a "nebula without star" that "appears of oval shape." Dumbbell is named after English astronomer John Herschel, who observed the nebula in 1828 and compared its shape to that of a dumbbell. Messier 27 is the second brightest planetary nebula in the sky, behind the Helix Nebula in Aquarius, and is likely the simplest to observe.
Fun Facts:
The Dumbbell Nebula, pumps out infrared light in this image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Spitzer’s infrared view shows a different side of this recycled stellar material. It is interesting how different Spitzer’s view of the Dumbbell looks compared to optical images
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