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Little Dumbbell Nebula (M76)
planetary nebula in Perseus
The Little Dumbbell Nebula in Perseus is one of the faintest and smallest objects in the Messier catalog. It is a planetary nebula with two bright lobes joined by a bar, and fainter outer loops. Distance estimates for it vary quite a bit.
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// Key facts
- Catalog
- M76
- Type
- planetary nebula
- Constellation
- Perseus
- Size
- 2.7′ across
- Brightness
- Magnitude 10.1
- Distance
- roughly 2,500 to 5,000 light-years
- Peak month (any location)
- Oct
- Typical prime months
- Aug to Dec
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Filter
- OIII or dual-band / UHC filter
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How to image Little Dumbbell Nebula
- It is tiny (under 3 arcminutes), so use 1,500 mm or more.
- An OIII or dual-band filter greatly improves contrast.
- High in the sky on autumn and winter nights from northern sites.
Framing: what focal length?
M76 is small, so a "60% of the frame" focal length would be impractical. Here is how much of an APS-C frame it covers at common long focal lengths; expect to crop.
| Focal length | Share of the frame width |
|---|---|
| 1,000 mm | about 3% |
| 2,000 mm | about 7% |
| 3,000 mm | about 10% |
How high does it climb from your latitude?
The highest point M76 reaches in the sky. Above about 60° is excellent, 30° to 60° is workable, and under 30° you are looking through a lot of air.
| Latitude | Highest point | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 55°N (Scotland, Alaska) | 87° | High in the sky |
| 45°N (Minneapolis, Milan) | 83° | High in the sky |
| 35°N (Los Angeles, Tokyo) | 73° | High in the sky |
| 25°N (Miami, Cairo) | 63° | High in the sky |
| 35°S (Sydney, Santiago) | 3° | Stays low |
Also worth imaging
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