Javier
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/03/09
Posts: 578
Loc: 15 Minutes west of the Manhatt...
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I'm going to try and find the Dumbbell Nebula as soon as I get another clear night. What should I be lookng for in the eyepiece? ANy tips or tricks on how to best find it? I live in a red zone but after midnight the lights tend to shutdown so the sky's do darken.
Jav
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Carol L
Reged: 07/05/04
Posts: 6048
Loc: Tomahawk, WI 45N//89W
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Hi Jav, IIRC it's a bit more than 3 degrees north of Gamma Sagittae just over the Cygnus border. What it would look like depends on your aperture and magnification, but watch for something that resembles a puff of smoke. 
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Javier
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/03/09
Posts: 578
Loc: 15 Minutes west of the Manhatt...
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Thanks Carol, next clear night I'm going to give it a shot.
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Dave Mitsky
Postmaster
Reged: 04/08/02
Posts: 11686
Loc: PA, USA, Planet Earth
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M27 is a fairly easy binocular target. It lies just south of the middle star of an M-shaped pattern of stars, consisting of 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17 Vulpeculae.
http://www.geocities.com/sftonkin/messier/27-71.gif
Here are two Telrad finder charts:
http://www.utahskies.org/deepsky/messier/charts/m027.htm
http://www.atmob.org/library/member/skymaps/MAP8.PDF
Dave Mitsky
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Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
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Scott K
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 1533
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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Javier, in your 8" lightbridge, the dumbbell should be a pretty easy target, even in light pollution. The object is quite large for a planetary nebula, and absolutely unmistakable. (It is well named - it really does look kinda like a dumbbell in an 8" scope.)
A nebula filter can help with planetary nebula like the dumbbell, although you really shouldn't need one for this object - it is plenty bright. No nebula filter will help as much as driving your scope to someplace dark - although I totally understand the desire to observe as much as possible, and that means at home, even if home is really bright at night. (I did this for years.)
I'm sure I've seen it from Dallas in my 8" scope.
Good luck, and do let us know how the search goes!
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Dean Norris
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/05/08
Posts: 568
Loc: Santa Cruz, Ca
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Javier, Do you have a Telrad finder? This finder really makes locating deep sky objects much easier than using only a 8x50 finder. Actually I use both but more times than not the Telrad gets the object close enough so I can see it in my low power eyepiece. There are finder charts for the Messier objects that I found very useful in the Beginners forum in the post Telrad Charts Have You Seen This? then view Carol's Picks. The third website that Dave provided the link to is the same charts I've used that are found with other ones at Carol's Picks. Dean
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jack45
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/07/03
Posts: 2577
Loc: Lacey WA
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Here's one more that may help you find it! Click on the object's name to access its image or click on the name of adjacent constellation to see its map.
http://www.astrosurf.com/jwisn/vulpecula.htm
Clear Skies!
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Edited by jack45 (07/01/09 03:00 AM)
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John Kocijanski
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/22/03
Posts: 1707
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Nice link. I use Albireo to help find M27 as well. M27 is below Albireo about the same distance as M57 is above it. I often hop in a line from M57 to M56 to Albireo and then down to M27. The link shows how they line up nicely.
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Deep Space Observer 10 * SPC-8 * C102 HD f/10 * XT 4.5 * Orion/Moonlite 80ED * PST *
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Ptarmigan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/23/04
Posts: 2704
Loc: Arctic
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Quote:
Hi Jav, IIRC it's a bit more than 3 degrees north of Gamma Sagittae just over the Cygnus border. What it would look like depends on your aperture and magnification, but watch for something that resembles a puff of smoke.
That's how I find the Dumbbell Nebula myself. It kinda reminds me of an eaten apple.  
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Carol L
Reged: 07/05/04
Posts: 6048
Loc: Tomahawk, WI 45N//89W
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You're right. 
IIRC, it's also referred to as the Apple Core... anyone else ever hear that one?
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Dave Mitsky
Postmaster
Reged: 04/08/02
Posts: 11686
Loc: PA, USA, Planet Earth
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Quote:
IIRC, it's also referred to as the Apple Core... anyone else ever hear that one?
Yes.
http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/supp/d-names.html
http://www.cloudynights.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=18722&password=&sort=7&thecat=500
Dave Mitsky
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Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
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wfj
sage
Reged: 01/10/08
Posts: 280
Loc: California, Santa Cruz County
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When I teach kids how to find it, I have them make a box out of Sadr, Epsilon Cygni, and Alberio. M27 is at the missing corner, across from Alberio ... and use a 2 degree FOV if possible as its quite big.
Works well enough in metro skies, when you can't make out Vulpecula.
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Bill Barlow
sage
Reged: 12/03/07
Posts: 426
Loc: Overland Park KS
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Hi Carol..Yes..I have heard M27 described as the applecore..but it looks more like a bowtie to me.
Bill
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David Knisely
Postmaster
Reged: 04/19/04
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Loc: Beatrice, Nebraska
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Quote:
Hi Carol..Yes..I have heard M27 described as the applecore..but it looks more like a bowtie to me.
Bill
It's funny, but a naturalist friend of mine when he first got a look at M27 in my 10 inch using the UHC filter, he said, "It looks like a shark's egg.", which was a little puzzling, as I have never seen one. Still, with the filter at 47x, the object looked like a complete but slightly irregular oval with the faint "wings" off the ends of the apple-core formation being easy to see. Clear skies to you.
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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info
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PJ Anway
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/04/03
Posts: 1295
Loc: Michigan's U.P.
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Quote:
I'm going to try and find the Dumbbell Nebula as soon as I get another clear night. What should I be lookng for in the eyepiece? ANy tips or tricks on how to best find it? I live in a red zone but after midnight the lights tend to shutdown so the sky's do darken.
Jav
My method:
I've always found M27 by drawing a line from Sulafat (gamma Lyrae) to Albireo (beta Cygnii) and then continue along the same line for the same distance to M27. Those two stars are 3rd magnitude and should be visible even in light polluted skies. By this method I can put M27 in the view of my 24mm eyepiece (59X) every time.
Here is a chart I put together for you: http://www.munisingwebsites.com/lookum/pics/M27.jpg
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Clear Skies,
PJ
Lookum Observatory
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Hrundi
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/06/08
Posts: 1505
Loc: Estonia
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Quote:
Quote:
Hi Carol..Yes..I have heard M27 described as the applecore..but it looks more like a bowtie to me.
Bill
It's funny, but a naturalist friend of mine when he first got a look at M27 in my 10 inch using the UHC filter, he said, "It looks like a shark's egg.", which was a little puzzling, as I have never seen one. Still, with the filter at 47x, the object looked like a complete but slightly irregular oval with the faint "wings" off the ends of the apple-core formation being easy to see. Clear skies to you.
I think it depends on the light pollution and aperture. M27 looks like a thick bar with fairly bright wings to me. I have a hard time seeing the contraction/dimming in the middle.
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jhkayakr
member
Reged: 02/01/09
Posts: 69
Loc: east coast USA
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I was amazed at how large it is. I thought it would be about the same size as the ring, but in fact about 4 times as large in area. A light polution filter works great on bringing it out.
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Celestron CPC 800 XLT
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AlanK
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 523
Loc: Auckland, New Zealand
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Its big alright - even shows as a small patch through 7x50 binoculars. Through my scope at low power there's almost a 3D effect with it appearing to float in front of the starry background.
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Clear skies!
18 inch f4.5 Obsession #1637
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CESDewar
GorillAstronomer
Reged: 01/16/05
Posts: 2075
Loc: Morganton, GA, USA
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Another popular star-hop to M27 (besides the wider one from Sulafat in Lyra through Albireo in Cygnus) is to draw a line straight through Delta and Zeta Sagittae as that points almost perfectly to M27. of course in heavily LP'd skies Sagitta is not an easy constellation to find, although it's pretty compact at only 6.5° - so you can often find the entire constellation in a wide-field finderscope.
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John Kocijanski
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/22/03
Posts: 1707
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Quote:
A light polution filter works great on bringing it out.
I viewed it last night in my 80ed using an Orion Ultrablock filter. Despite the intense moonlight it was easy to see.
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Deep Space Observer 10 * SPC-8 * C102 HD f/10 * XT 4.5 * Orion/Moonlite 80ED * PST *
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Benihana
member
Reged: 06/03/09
Posts: 11
Loc: Southern Cauliflowernia
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Spotted it last night through a pair of 11x56 Obies. What I do is go to the "point" of Sagitta and then slowly drift over towards Cygnus. It was easily seen as your typical fuzzy blob in spite of brightness of the moon.
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