Dumbbell Nebula
M27
📋 A written introduction is coming — for now this page shows official values only.
Object
- Type (NASA)
- Planetary Nebula
- Distance from Earth
- 1,200 light-years
- Apparent magnitude
- 7.5 mag
- Apparent size
- 8 ′
- NASA description
- Through backyard telescopes, Messier 27 has two bright lobes making it look like a dumbbell, and is commonly called the Dumbbell Nebula.
Source:NASA Hubble (Messier/Caldwell catalogs) · checked 2026-11-02 ↗NASA HEASARC (Goddard Space Flight Center) · checked 2026-11-02 ↗
Related
Constellation
In everyday life
- Light from this object takes about 1,200 years to reach Earth — the light you see tonight left around AD 826 (official distance ÷ speed of light).
- At magnitude 7.5 it is fainter than the naked-eye limit (about 6) — you need binoculars or a telescope.
- It spans about 8′ of sky — about 1/4 of the full Moon's 31′.