Comments:
Discovered by Charles Messier (who
compiled the Messier catalogue) in 1764.
The Dumbbell Nebula was the first ever planetary
nebula to be discovered. It appears much larger
and brighter than most planetary nebulae. It
was formed when the central star died and ejected
its outermost layers. You can see the core
of the central star
which
lights up
the nebula right in the centre. It died around
3000-4000
years ago, and that’s when the nebula was formed.
Its distance from our Sun is unsure – between
1,200 and 3,500 light years.
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