The Little Dumbell, Butterfly or Corkscrew Planetary Nebula - Messier 76

Messier 76 the Little Dumbell Planetary Nebula COAST Robotic Telescope - Open University - telescope.org -SHO filters (Sulphur Hydrogen Oxygen) - 13th July 2019. - Pip Stakkert.

" A planetary nebula has nothing to do with planets. A planetary nebula is the name given to an expanding shell of gas around an ageing star. It is thought that one day, in the far future, this fate awaits our Sun when it begins to run out of hydrogen fuel and leaves the main sequence. 

Messier 76 is some 2500 light years distant from Earth in the constellation Perseus and just over one light year across. It is quite faint, having an apparent magnitude of 10.1 and quite small, so difficult to find and see through a small telescope. The above image was taken through SHO filters so the the colours are false. The colour red indicates ionized sulphur gas, green indicates ionized hydrogen and blue indicates ionized oxygen" -  Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.