NGC 650

Common Name: Little Dumbbell Nebula

Also Known as: Messier 76 (M76), NGC 651, Cork Nebula, Barbell Nebula

Object Type: Planetary Nebula

Constellation: Perseus

Distance from Earth: 2,500 light years

Apparent Magnitude: 10.1

Coordinates: RA 01H 42.4M 0S DEC 51 deg 34 min 31 sec

Actual Size: 1.23 light years in diameter

Apparent Dimensions: 2.7 arc-minutes x 1.8 arc-minutes

Discovered by: The Little Dumbbell Nebula was discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain on September 5, 1780.
Méchain reported the discovery to his friend and colleague Charles Messier, who subsequently included the nebula in his catalogue of deep sky objects on October 21.

Description: M76 is listed as both NGC 650 and NGC 651 since it was once believed to consist of 2 separate nebulae.
The Little Dumbbell Nebula is one of only four planetary nebulae listed in the Messier catalogue. The other three are the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) in Vulpecula constellation, the Ring Nebula (M57) in Lyra, and the Owl Nebula (M97) in Ursa Major.
The Little Dumbbell Nebula was named for its resemblance to the much larger Dumbbell Nebula.
Its main body, known as the “cork,“ probably looks like an elliptical, donut-shaped ring when seen face-on, but appears to us edge-on.
The gas along the axis of the ring expands more rapidly, forming the nebula’s “wings,” which are fainter than the main body.
The cork and the wings are surrounded by an even fainter halo that consists of material that the central star ejected while it was still in its red giant phase.
The Little Dumbbell nebula was formed when its star ran out of fuel in its late stages of life and expelled its outer layers. The expelled material is then heated by the radiation of the stellar remnant producing the glowing clouds. The clouds will disperse over the next several thousand years.
Messier 76 is classified as a bipolar planetary nebula (BPNe). The central star, HD 10346, has a visual magnitude of 15.9 and a temperature of about 60,000 K. In fact, M76 is known to have two stars, not one, at the center.
The nebula itself has a surface temperature of about 88,400 K and is moving toward us at 19.1 km/s. Its clouds are expanding at a rate of 42 km/s.

Click Below Image(s) for Full Size:

Large binoculars and small telescopes show M76 as a small, diffuse point of light.
The nebula is better seen through medium-sized telescopes. 8-inch telescopes reveal its two lobes and the dark lane separating them, while large instruments show both the double-lobed structure of M76 and the faint halo surrounding it.
It is a challenging object for southern observers because it never climbs high above the northern horizon when seen from locations south of the equator.

The best time of year to observe the Little Dumbbell Nebula is during the months of October, November and December.

Platesolve

NGC 650 Planetary Nebula

Imaging Details
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