APOD: 2026 June 22 – M27: The Dumbbell Nebula
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Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2026 June 22
M27: The Dumbbell Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright:
Francesco Antonucci
Explanation:
Is this what will become of our Sun? Quite possibly.
The first hint of our
Sun‘s future
was discovered inadvertently in
1764.
At that time,
Charles Messier was compiling a list
of diffuse objects not to be confused with comets.
The 27th object on
Messier’s list, now known as
M27 or the Dumbbell Nebula, is a
planetary nebula,
one of the brightest
planetary nebulas on the sky and visible with binoculars
toward the constellation of the Fox (Vulpecula).
It takes light about 1000 years to reach us from M27,
featured here in colors enhanced by red for
hydrogen
and blue for
oxygen.
We now know that in about 6 billion years,
our Sun will
shed its outer gases into a
planetary nebula like M27,
while its remaining center will become an
X-ray hot
white dwarf star.
Understanding the physics and significance of
M27 was well beyond 18th century science, though.
Even today, many things
remain mysterious about
planetary nebulas, including how their
intricate
shapes are created.
Tomorrow’s picture: passing Triton
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
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