Taking up most of the image, is a multi-colored nebula in shades of blue, pink, yellow, orange, purple, and white. It appears as two translucent orbs attached by a white band. — Hubble · Messier 76 · NASA, ESA, STScI

Barbell Nebula

Nebula in Perseus · 2,500 light-years

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Type	Nebula
Constellation	Perseus
Right ascension	1h 42m 20s
Declination	+51° 35′
Object distance	2,500 light-years
Apparent magnitude	10.1
Apparent size	1.1′ (arc-minutes)
Approx. true diameter	0.8 light-years across
Also known as	M76 · NGC 0651 · Cork Nebula · Little Dumbbell Nebula

Messier 76, popularly known as the Barbell Nebula, is a nebula (also catalogued as NGC 0651) in Perseus — a glowing cloud of interstellar gas and dust. It was recorded by Charles Messier in his famous catalogue of 110 deep-sky objects. It spans roughly 1.1 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 10.1, it shows up well in a small backyard telescope.

Although it appears about 1.1′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 0.8 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.

Observing Barbell Nebula

Barbell Nebula lies in the constellation Perseus and is best placed in the evening sky around October. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. It is best placed for observers in the northern hemisphere, and sits low for those far south. A small backyard telescope will show it; binoculars may hint at it under dark skies. Note that the listed magnitude is spread across the whole object — diffuse galaxies and nebulae are often harder to see than the number alone suggests, so dark, moonless skies help a great deal.

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Sources

Position, magnitude and angular size from the OpenNGC catalogue (Mattia Verga).
Object identity cross-referenced with SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg).
Image credits and the original observation source are linked with each photograph.

Related objects

Orion Nebula — nebula
Ring Nebula — nebula
Eagle Nebula — nebula
Carina Nebula — nebula
Lagoon Nebula — nebula