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A Tour of Messier 76

In celebration of the 34th anniversary of the launch of NASA's legendary Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, 1990, astronomers took a snapshot of the Little Dumbbell Nebula. Also known as Messier 76, M76, or NGC 650/651, it is composed of a ring, seen edge-on as the central bar structure, and two lobes on either opening of the ring. 

The two mottled lobes of colorful glowing gases resemble a balloon that has been pinched in the middle. Both lobes are expanding into space from a dying star, which is the white dot in the center. Blistering ultraviolet radiation from the super-hot star is causing the gases to glow. The red color is from nitrogen and blue from oxygen.

Explore Messier 76 in this video tour.

  • Release Date
    April 23, 2024
  • Science Release
    Hubble Celebrates 34th Anniversary with a Look at the Little Dumbbell Nebula
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, STScI

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  • Captions: Subtitles,
    txt (2.29 KB)
  • Transcript: Transcript,
    docx (7.3 KB)
  • Tour M76_3840x2160, 3840 × 2160, 30 FPS
    mp4 (160.97 MB)
  • Tour M76_1920x1080, 1920 × 1080, 30 FPS
    mp4 (36.27 MB)

Related Images & Videos

Taking up most of the image, is a multi-colored nebula appearing as two translucent orbs attached by a white band.

Little Dumbbell Nebula (WFC3 Image)

In celebration of the 34th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s legendary Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers took a snapshot of the Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76, or M76, located 3,400 light-years away in the northern circumpolar constellation Perseus. The...

Annotated image labeled “Little Dumbbell Nebula, M76, HST WFC3/UVIS” against the black background of space. Near top left, a color key consisting of five lines reads: “F475W SDSS g’” in cyan; “F502N OIII” in dark blue; “F656N Ha” in green; “F658N NIII” in red; and “F814W I” in orange. The nebula is located 3,400 light-years away in the northern circumpolar constellation Perseus. The name 'Little Dumbbell' comes from its shape that is a two-lobed structure of colorful, mottled, glowing gases resembling a balloon that’s been pinched around a middle waist. Like an inflating balloon, the lobes are expanding into space from a dying star seen as a white dot in the center. Blistering ultraviolet radiation from the super-hot star is causing the gases to glow. The red color is from nitrogen, and blue is from oxygen. At bottom left corner is a scale bar labeled “1 light-year.” At bottom right corner, the “E” compass arrow points towards the 10 o’clock position. The “N” arrow points towards the 1 o’clock position.

Little Dumbbell Nebula (WFC3 Compass Image)

This is an annotated Hubble Space Telescope image of the Little Dumbbell Nebula, located 3,400 light-years away in the northern circumpolar constellation Perseus. The object’s name comes from its shape that is a two-lobed structure of colorful, mottled, glowing gases resembling...

The Little Dumbbell Nebula is located 3,400 light-years away in the northern circumpolar constellation Perseus.

Zoom to the Little Dumbbell Nebula

A zoom into the constellation Perseus reveals the Hubble Space Telescope's view of the Little Dumbbell Nebula. Also known as Messier 76, M76, or NGC 650/651, it is composed of a ring, seen edge-on as the central bar structure, and two lobes on either opening of the ring. The two...

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Last Updated
Mar 06, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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