N90.Name

“Nebula at the right footofAndromeda … ” begins the descriptionfor the 76th object in Charles Messier’s 18th century CatalogofNebulae and Star Clusters.In fact, M76 isone of the fainter objects on the Messier list andis also known by the popular name of the “Little Dumbbell Nebula”.Like its brighter namesake M27(the Dumbbell Nebula), M76 is recognizedas a planetarynebula – a gaseous shroud cast off by adying sunlike star.The nebula itself is thought to be shaped more like a donut, while thebox-like appearance of its brighter centralregion is due to our nearly edge-on view.Gas expanding more rapidly away from the donut hole produces thefainter loops of far flung material.The fainter material is emphasized in this composite image, highlightedby showing emission from hydrogen atoms in orange and oxygen atomsin complementary blue hues.The nebula’s dying star can be picked out inthesharp false-color image as blue-tinted star near thecenter of the box-like shape. Distance estimates place M76 about 3 to 5 thousand light-years away,making the nebula over alight-year in diameter.