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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                  2024 October 5   
      
                                 M27: Not a Comet   
          Image Credit & Copyright: Francesco Sferlazza, Franco Sgueglia   
      
      Explanation: While hunting for comets in the skies above 18th century   
      France, astronomer Charles Messier diligently kept a list of the things   
      encountered during his telescopic expeditions that were definitely not   
      comets. This is number 27 on his now famous not-a-comet list. In fact,   
      21st century astronomers would identify it as a planetary nebula, but   
      it's not a planet either, even though it may appear round and   
      planet-like in a small telescope. Messier 27 (M27) is an excellent   
      example of a gaseous emission nebula created as a sun-like star runs   
      out of nuclear fuel in its core. The nebula forms as the star's outer   
      layers are expelled into space, with a visible glow generated by atoms   
      excited by the dying star's intense but invisible ultraviolet light.   
      Known by the popular name of the Dumbbell Nebula, the beautifully   
      symmetric interstellar gas cloud is over 2.5 light-years across and   
      about 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. This   
      impressive color image highlights details within the well-studied   
      central region and fainter, seldom imaged features in the nebula's   
      outer halo.   
      
                        Tomorrow's picture: a comet's tale   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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