Object Name – M76 .
Object Type – Planetary nebula.
J2000.0 Equatorial Coordinates – 01h 42m19.05s; + 51° 34´ 31.1".
Distance – 8,000 light-year.
Constellation – Pegasus.

The M76 nebula, also known as the Little Dumbbell, was discovered in 1780 by Pierre Méchain. Messier classified it as a double nebula without stellar content. In 1866, astrophotographer Isaac Roberts suggested a single nebula nature, and it was later classified as a planetary nebula by Heber D. Cirtis in 1918.

The Perseus constellation harbours this sky jewel, located ~8000 light years from Earth. Its nebular halo spans approximately 20 light years. Its central ring expands at a velocity of 42 km/s; inside it we can find the 6000-K central star shining at 16.6 magnitude.

This IAC80 image, which reveals a rich and complex structure, is actually a composite of images taken through N II-Hα and O III narrow-band filters. These filters reveal structures which are not present in other published photographs of the nebula, like the three reddish outflows to the left easily visible in N II light. In addition, a bow-like, bluish halo can be seen to the right thanks to its O III emission.