M76 is a planetary nebula in Perseus. It’s known as the Little Dumbbell Nebula because of it’s passing resemblance (in the eyepiece) to larger Dumbbell Nebula (M27). In images, though, M76 looks very different with two lobes and a strong central band. The nebula is about 2,500 light years from Earth.

This is the last of the four planetary nebulae in the Messier catalog that I’ve imaged (the others are M27, M57 and M97).

I’ve presented this in the SOH palette (sulfur in red, oxygen in green and hydrogen in blue) because it seemed the most aesthetically pleasing combination to me.

For all the technical details see astrobin.