M76 Little Dumbbell Nebula

Image Title: M76 Little Dumbbell Nebula

Copyright: Jean-claude MARIO

Date image was taken: September 15, 2026

Location: Alpes-Maritimes

Data Acquisition Method: Personal Telescope Setup

Description and Details: The Little Dumbbell Nebula (Messier 76 or NGC 650-651) is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Perseus, approximately 3,000 light-years away. Featuring a bipolar hourglass structure around a dense equatorial ring, it owes its glow to the ultraviolet radiation of an extremely hot central white dwarf exceeding 100,000 kelvins.

With an apparent magnitude of +10.1, it is accessible with amateur equipment and stands out particularly well in astrophotography using H-alpha and OIII narrowband filters, though it also responds well in LRGB. For this image, I did not use an OIII filter—only H-LRGB—and it is primarily the H-alpha that brings out the small nebulosities beyond the main nebula.

Name: Jean-claude MARIO