Explanation: Is this what will become of our Sun? Quite possibly. The first hint of our Sun's future was discovered inadvertently in 1764. At that time, Charles Messier was compiling a list of diffuse objects not to be confused with comets. The 27th object on Messier's list, now known as M27 or the Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula, the type of nebula our Sun will produce when nuclear fusion stops in its core. M27 is one of the brightest planetary nebulae on the sky, and can be seen toward the constellation of the Fox (Vulpecula) with binoculars. It takes light about 1000 years to reach us from M27, featured here in colors emitted by hydrogen and oxygen. Understanding the physics and significance of M27 was well beyond 18th century science. Even today, many things remain mysterious about bipolar planetary nebula like M27, including the physical mechanism that expels a low-mass star's gaseous outer-envelope, leaving an X-ray hot white dwarf.
I thought I had seen a wide selection of photos of the Dumbbell Nebula, but this is the first one I can remember showing the tubular structure surrounding the central star. Any idea as to what may have caused what I am calling tubular?
NCTom wrote: ↑Tue Dec 03, 2019 1:01 pm
I thought I had seen a wide selection of photos of the Dumbbell Nebula, but this is the first one I can remember showing the tubular structure surrounding the central star. Any idea as to what may have caused what I am calling tubular?
The current Wikipedia article has a similar color scheme but it is less highly processed such that the outer "tubular structure" is not visible.
.................................................................. HaRGB image of The Dumbbell Nebula (M27). Data from the Liverpool Telescope (a 2 m RC telescope on La Palma) processed by Göran Nilsson. Exposures: 149 x 90 s = 3.7 hours
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Re: APOD: M27: The Dumbbell Nebula (2019 Dec 03)
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 1:29 pm
by orin stepanek
image results from web search!
That wave was a blast, totally tubular man!
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 1:30 pm
by BDanielMayfield
NCTom wrote: ↑Tue Dec 03, 2019 1:01 pm
I thought I had seen a wide selection of photos of the Dumbbell Nebula, but this is the first one I can remember showing the tubular structure surrounding the central star. Any idea as to what may have caused what I am calling tubular?
Do you mean its hollowed out appearance in the center?
At the end of the Red Dwarf Giant phase stars expel (mild blast?) their outer layers. Surfs up then dude.
Re: APOD: M27: The Dumbbell Nebula (2019 Dec 03)
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 1:51 pm
by neufer
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbbell wrote:
<<The term "dumbbell" or "dumb bell" originated in late Stuart England. In 1711 the poet Joseph Addison mentioned exercising with a "dumb bell" in an essay published in The Spectator. Although Addison elsewhere in the same publication describes having used equipment similar to the modern understanding of dumbbells, according to sport historian Jan Todd, the form of the first dumbbells remains unclear.
The Oxford English Dictionary describes "apparatus similar to that used to ring a church bell, but without the bell, so noiseless or ‘dumb’", implying the action of pulling a bell rope to practise English bellringing.>>
I suspect that I would find planetary nebulas ugly. That is because I suspect that their dominant color is OIII, which is, or so I think, a shade of aqua (like this or like this) that I find really unpleasant.
That said, I want to add that I find today's APOD really beautiful. The color of the planetary in the APOD is blue and pink, which is a combination that I love.
So maybe I should just disregard the "reality " of the nebula and just enjoy Steve Mazlin's picture of it!
Ann
Re: APOD: M27: The Dumbbell Nebula (2019 Dec 03)
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 4:28 pm
by neufer
Ann wrote: ↑Tue Dec 03, 2019 3:14 pm
maybe I should just disregard the "reality " of the nebula and just enjoy Steve Mazlin's picture of it!
Geck spends a lot of time balancing the "reality" & "beauty" of planetary nebulae:
The ones you linked to are almost all supernova remnants, with the exception of the top middle one which is a hot superbubble where stars were forming.
I don't have any personal experience with the Dumbbell. It looks like a good rendition of it, though I suspect that a lot of sharpening/deconvolution has been done to the center especially. Looks like it combines narrowband with wideband data for the stars, which always turns out nice. It'd probably be neat to do something different from the hundreds of other visible light images and combine some visible with infrared or x-ray data, if any is available.
Re: APOD: M27: The Dumbbell Nebula (2019 Dec 03)
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 8:07 pm
by NCTom
Thanks for the response. I suppose I'm seeing multiple shells revealed in such a way as to create the image of a worm tube surrounding the central expanding cloud. The old eyes are playing tricks.
Re: APOD: M27: The Dumbbell Nebula (2019 Dec 03)
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 10:22 pm
by orin stepanek
I have trouble with the dumbbell; it doesn't look like a bell! It doesn't look like it is dumb! It looks like a nebula, plane and simple! I can think of no name to call it! Lets give it a name that it looks like!
Re: APOD: M27: The Dumbbell Nebula (2019 Dec 03)
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 11:23 pm
by Chris Peterson
orin stepanek wrote: ↑Tue Dec 03, 2019 10:22 pm
I have trouble with the dumbbell; it doesn't look like a bell! It doesn't look like it is dumb! It looks like a nebula, plane and simple! I can think of no name to call it! :mrgreen: Lets give it a name that it looks like! :b:
Through an eyepiece, it does look like a dumbbell, with two slightly separated blobs.
M27: The Dumbbell Nebula
HaRGB image of The Dumbbell Nebula (M27). Data from the Liverpool Telescope (a 2 m RC telescope on La Palma) processed by Göran Nilsson. Exposures: 149 x 90 s = 3.7 hours
