by Rod Pommier
Location: Pommier Observatory, Portland, OR, USA. Dates: 2011-07-02. Time:07:57 UT, start of exposures. Telescope/mount: Celestron Compustar C14 with 0.75x focal reducer (f8). Camera: SBIG STL 11000M with Baader Planetarium filters. Self-guided. Exposures: LRGB=102:84:84:84=5hours:54minutes total exposure.
M27 lies about 1200 light-years from Earth and has a diameter of about 2.4 light-years. It's expansion rate indicates that the red giant that spawned it erupted between 3000 and 4000 years ago. The white dwarf remanant of the red giant lies at the center of the nebula. This image shows some of the subtle detail inside the nebula.