Data acquired by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Robotic Telescope, processed by Mark Germani from Vancouver, B.C.
The planetary nebula M27 lies roughly 1,270 light-years distant in Vulepecula and is known as the Dumbbell Nebula. This image captures the knotty outflows within the familiar dumbbell shape, and how the object’s overall structure is formed by the precession of the central white dwarf’s rotation. The image was taken in Hα/OIII/SII/RGB filters with a 16-inch scope over 29 hours 15 minutes of total integration.