Astronomy Picture of the Day · December 17, 2008

The Dumbbells

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 17, 2008 is “The Dumbbells,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: Daniel López , IAC). The original explanation runs about 131 words.

From the explanation

“These two nebulae are cataloged as M27 (left) and M76, popularly known as The Dumbbell and the Little Dumbbell . Not intended to indicate substandard mental prowess, their popular names refer to their similar, dumbbell or hourglass shapes.”

— APOD editors, December 17, 2008

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: December 17, 2008
Type: Image
Credit: Credit & Copyright: Daniel López , IAC
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 131 words

All of December 2008 → · 2008 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Nebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 17 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, December 17, 2008 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2008-december-17-the-dumbbells

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.