Hello!
Welcome to The Star Deck Observatory's DSO of The Month!
This week's choice is the planetary nebula Messier 27 the Dumbell Nebula, at a magnitude of 8.1 it can be picked up in a moderate set of binoculars. In binoculars this planetary nebula will appear as a small dim fuzzy looking puff of smoke with a slightly brighter center. In a small achromatic refractor such as an 80mm or 100mm in the 60 - 80X range the general shape of the Dumbell Nebula will begin to take shape and it will appear as more than just a dim puff of smoke.
To find the Dumbell Nebula is fairly easy using the star hopping method of locating it. The first star you will want to locate is the 'tail' of the Cygnus constellation, Albireo. Albireo will have a slightly yellow to orange color to it and you may even be able to discern that this is a double star formation if your eye sight and binoculars are decent. From Albireo still using just your naked eyeballs pan to the south east just a few degrees until you can make out the constellation Sagitta, you may need to use your binoculars to find Sagitta if you are dealing with skies of 4.0 mag or greater due to light pollution as the three brighter stars of Sagitta are all of mag 3.4 to 4.5 and the one we'll use as part of the hop is a little dimmer than mag 5.0.
Once you have located Albireo and the 5.1 mag star that is the point of the "Arrow" - Sagitta, trace a fairly straight line back to Albireo from the point of the Arrow using your averted vision to pick up the little puff of smoke that is the Dumbell Nebula - M27. In a pair of 10 X 50 binoculars the Dumbell and the point of the arrow star will be nearly within the same field of view. Be sure you allow your eyes to dark adapt for at least 20 -25 minutes before starting your search & you should be able to pick up the Dumbell Nebula in your binoculars fairly quickly. See the Triton Star Chart below for an easy "sky map" to help you locate M27! Good hunting and take a little time to scan all about Cygnus, it is a constellation with the Milky Way running through it and rich with multiple star clusters and rich star fields!
CS
Mark Jordan
The Mad One
39 47' 06" North / 85 46' 10" West
