﻿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2021 July 12 [2]The picture shows the planetary nebula M27 known as the Dumbbell Nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. M27: The Dumbbell Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Bray Falls & [4]Keith Quattrocchi Explanation: What will become of our Sun? The first hint of our [5]Sun's future was discovered inadvertently in [6]1764. At that time, [7]Charles Messier was compiling a list of diffuse objects not to be confused with comets. The 27th object on [8]Messier's list, now known as [9]M27 or the Dumbbell Nebula, is a [10]planetary nebula, one of the brightest [11]planetary nebulae on the sky -- and visible toward the [12]constellation of the Fox ([13]Vulpecula) with binoculars. It takes light about 1000 years to reach us from M27, [14]featured here in colors emitted by [15]hydrogen and [16]oxygen. We now know that in about 6 billion years, [17]our Sun will [18]shed its outer gases into a [19]planetary nebula like M27, while its remaining center will become an [20]X-ray hot [21]white dwarf star. Understanding the physics and significance of [22]M27 was well beyond 18th century science, though. Even today, many things [23]remain mysterious about [24]planetary nebulas, including [25]how their [26]intricate [27]shapes are created. Tomorrow's picture: Iapetus 3D __________________________________________________________________ [28]< | [29]Archive | [30]Submissions | [31]Index | [32]Search | [33]Calendar | [34]RSS | [35]Education | [36]About APOD | [37]Discuss | [38]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [39]Robert Nemiroff ([40]MTU) & [41]Jerry Bonnell ([42]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [43]Specific rights apply. [44]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [45]ASD at [46]NASA / [47]GSFC & [48]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2107/M27_Falls_3557.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/astrofalls/ 4. http://www.lostvalleyobservatory.com/about-the-lvo.html 5. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/overview/ 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1764 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Messier 8. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-messier.html 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080626.html 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/planetary_nebulae.html 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula 12. http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulpecula 14. http://www.lostvalleyobservatory.com/m27-dumbbell-nebula.html 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-alpha 16. https://periodic.lanl.gov/8.shtml 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150628.html 18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun#After_core_hydrogen_exhaustion 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula#Morphology 20. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/11_xrays 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000910.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100826.html 23. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/70/ce/c3/70cec30919aefe50ada3bd8e0e6239e6.jpg 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130915.html 25. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula#Current_issues_in_planetary_nebula_studies 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210425.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200721.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210711.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 32. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 37. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=210712 38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210713.html 39. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 40. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 41. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 42. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 43. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 44. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 45. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 46. https://www.nasa.gov/ 47. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 48. http://www.mtu.edu/