Andrew McCarthy's Dumbbell Nebula Photo Reveals Sun's Fate in 2027 Cosmic Calendar
For his 2027 Cosmic Background calendar, astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy selected a 30-hour exposure of the Dumbbell Nebula. Utilizing a 17-inch telescope, he captured an image of Messier 27, a planetary nebula located in Vulpecula, which is favored by amateur astronomers. This image depicts the Sun's future evolution into a red giant, followed by the shedding of layers and eventual collapse into a white dwarf, ultimately cooling into a black dwarf. McCarthy employed filters for Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur, assigning photos to color channels in a hybrid Hubble Palette, ensuring no additional colors were introduced. The calendar features 11 other deep space images and is available for purchase, alongside two more calendars McCarthy is creating.
Key facts
- Andrew McCarthy captured the Dumbbell Nebula over 30 hours with a 17-inch telescope earlier this year.
- The Dumbbell Nebula (Messier 27) is a planetary nebula in Vulpecula, an expanding shell of glowing gas and dust from a dying star.
- The image will be the first photo in McCarthy's 2027 Cosmic Background calendar.
- McCarthy used Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur-tuned filters to isolate trace gases and mapped them to color channels in a hybrid Hubble Palette.
- The photo is technically false color but close to true color, with oranges appearing more crimson; it is one of two false color images in the calendar.
- The Sun will eventually expand into a red giant, shed its outer layers, collapse into a white dwarf, and cool into a black dwarf over trillions of years.
- McCarthy is producing three calendars for 2027: the cosmic calendar, one focused on rockets, and one featuring his cat Gregory.
- The cosmic calendar includes 11 other images of deep space objects and celestial events, such as an airplane transiting the Sun.
Entities
Artists
- Andrew McCarthy
- Gregory
Institutions
- PetaPixel
Locations
- Vulpecula