The Night Sky: August 2020
Here are some of the things to see in August:Read More »The Night Sky: August 2020
Messier 57
Night Sky Highlights: August 2019
Here are some of the things to see in August: Read More »Night Sky Highlights: August 2019
Night Sky Highlights in August
Here are some of the things to see in August:Read More »Night Sky Highlights in August
Dumbbell Nebula – Messier 27
The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 27 (M27), is a bright, large planetary planetary nebula located in Vulpecula constellation. The nebula lies at a distance of 1,360 light years from Earth. It is sometimes also called the Apple Core Nebula or Diablo Nebula, and has the designation NGC 6853 in the New General Catalogue.
The Dumbbell Nebula was the first planetary nebula to be discovered. Charles Messier included it as M27 in his catalogue of deep sky objects in 1764.
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Summer Triangle
The Summer Triangle is one of the most familiar patterns in the northern summer night sky.
The three bright stars that mark the vertices of the Summer Triangle are Altair, Deneb, and Vega, the brightest stars in the constellations Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra. The star pattern makes it easy to locate each of the three constellations.
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The Night Sky in August
Here are the highlights of the night sky in August: 8:30 PM western sky – Venus over the western horizon at twilight, and Saturn slightly… Read More »The Night Sky in August
Ring Nebula (M57) in Lyra
The Ring Nebula, or Messier 57, is a famous planetary nebula located in Lyra constellation, south of Vega, the fifth brightest star in the sky.
The nebula was formed about 4,000 years ago, when the central star, a red giant, ejected a shell of ionized gas in the final stage of its evolution before becoming a white dwarf.
M57 is classified as a bipolar nebula, one whose equatorial rings visibly enlarge the nebula’s structure and give it a symmetric bi-lobed appearance. It is often confused with the Helix Nebula in Aquarius, another famous planetary nebula that has the appearance of a celestial eye.
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