M27

This is a planetary nebula, a shell of gas cast off from a dying star, about 1250 light years distant. Like the Ring nebula in Lyra, it is quite young, only a few thousand years old and expanding rapidly.

Taken May 24, 2007, with the 402 camera at F:3.5. Exposure is 5 minutes.

Image taken about 8:00 P.M. on November 3, 2001 with the 237 camera operating on the C-14 in Fastar mode. Exposure was 150 seconds, with track and accumulate operating on 10 15-second snapshots. Seeing was quite good for urban skies, with no wind.