How to photograph the Little Dumbbell Nebula (M76)
One of the faintest and smallest objects in the Messier catalog.
Photo byGöran Nilsson, Wim van Berlo & The Liverpool Telescope(CC BY-SA 4.0)
When to shoot it from your location
About the Little Dumbbell Nebula
M76 is a small planetary nebula that needs 1,000mm or more to show its shape. Deep exposures also bring out its faint outer loops.
Gear and framing
The Little Dumbbell Nebula spans about 2.7′ of sky. It frames best with:
- Long focal length (800mm and up)
You can see how other people have built their rigs on RigDesigner, including my Sony a6700 and 60mm refractor rig.
Filters
This target glows in hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-III light. A dual-band filter, or separate narrowband filters with a mono camera, lets that light through and blocks most light pollution and moonlight. It is a good choice for city skies and for nights with the Moon up.
Tips
- Good seeing makes a big difference with a target this small.
Processing
Stack your light frames with darks and flats, then remove the background gradient before stretching. AstroBake does all of this for you. Point it at your folders of raw frames, then adjust the result with live sliders.