M27
The Dumbbell Nebula is the brightest planetary nebula in the sky and the easiest of its class to find - a dying star's ejected shell seen from the side, so its two bright lobes form the apple-core shape it is named for. At magnitude 7.4 and 8 arcminutes across it is visible in binoculars as a faint patch, resolves into the dumbbell in a 4-inch telescope, and shows its fainter perpendicular wings in an 8-inch under dark skies.
Use your telescope rigs to see how this object appears.
Telescope setups ranked by optical compatibility with this target.
Planetary Imaging Setup
High frame-rate planetary imaging. The C8 gives 2032mm focal length; the 2x Barlow doubles it. The ASI462MC is optimised for low-noise, high-speed colour capture.
2 components
Planetary Specialist
High-magnification configuration optimised for Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. The C8 SCT delivers the long focal length needed to resolve fine planetary detail.
2 components
Galaxy Hunter
A long-focal-length one-shot-color imaging rig built around the Celestron EdgeHD 9.25. The flat, edge-corrected field and a 0.7x reducer bring galaxies and compact planetary nebulae within reach, while the EQ6-R Pro carries the tube steadily through long exposures.
7 components
Deep Sky Explorer
A big-aperture visual Dobsonian paired with premium wide-field eyepieces. Ten inches of aperture pulls in faint galaxies and globular clusters, and the Ethos/Delos eyepieces deliver those photons with immersive, edge-to-edge sharpness under dark skies.
3 components