About Dumbbell Nebula
Dumbbell Nebula is a rare nebula. It sits in the constellation Vul and shines at apparent magnitude 7.4.
Clouds of gas and dust light-years across, where new stars are forged.
Rare nebula 34 EP
Dumbbell Nebula
RA 299.9016° · Dec 22.7210° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 4 badgesRare 46 pts → Epic
- Messier object +12
- Nebula +8
- Has a proper name +8
- Bright deep-sky object +6
Total score 34
12 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Nebula · +8
- Messier object · +12
- Bright deep-sky object · +6
- Has a proper name · +8
Trivia
How we found it
- Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
Cosmic context
- Stellar nursery. Clouds of gas and dust light-years across, where new stars are forged.
Properties
- constellation
- Vul
- dso type
- PN
- mag
- 7.4
- messier
- yes
- messier number
- 027
- name
- Dumbbell Nebula
- named
- yes
How to see it
Look for Dumbbell Nebula in the constellation Vul. At apparent magnitude 7.4, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, Dumbbell Nebula is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why Dumbbell Nebula is a rare nebula
Dumbbell Nebula scores 34 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Nebula, Messier object, Bright deep-sky object and Has a proper name — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.