M27 / NGC6853

When this nebulous spot was discovered in the eighteenth century, Astronomy was in many case a descriptive science, and because this class of objects may have some semblance to the outer planets Uranus and Neptune in a small telescope, they were dubbed ‘Planetary Nebula’.

Actually, the Dumbbell Nebula gives us some insight into the fate of our sun – fortunately still about five billion years in the future. An old star becomes instable and separates from its expanded outer shell, which drifts into space. Only a densely packed core remains intact, gradually fading away, a so called White Dwarf. It is visible here in the center of the nebula, whose shock waves have been expanding for several ten thousand years now.