Posted on Oct 5, 2024

APOD: 2024 October 5 - M27: Not a Comet

Maj William W. 'Bill' Price

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Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the October 5th edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). Discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, he first categorized M27 (aka the Dumbbell Nebula) as 'not a comet.' The term 'planetary nebula' is believed to have been first used by William Herschel a few years later (~1780s), where he described this class of nebulae as resembling a planet. A planetary nebula is an emission nebula that consists of an expanding shell of ionized gas ejected from a host star late in its life. M27 lies about 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula.

APOD: 2024 October 5 - M27: Not a Comet

Posted from apod.nasa.gov

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Posted 1 y ago

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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney

Posted 1 y ago

"...number 27 on his now famous not-a-comet list..... "
Its Amazing, How Far They Can See Using The Available Technology.
And We See Colors We've Never Seen Before... Interesting And Pretty Cool Too.
And It's Really a List. "NOT A Comet".. ... Funny Stuff Those Astrologers Do...
~ "Look Mom, I'm Not A Car" ~ And We'd Haul That Kid Off To The Funny Farm

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