M 27: are there colors in the Dumbell's nebula ?

[Bertrand Laville]

Hi All,

There is presently a hot discussion about «*seeing colors*» on an other great astronomy forum.
A lot of guys have seen different colors on nebulae, particularly on PN, and I must say that it is true for me.
But, strangely, my report of a detail observation and sketch of Dumbell's nebula doesn't notice any color, neither the green of OIII line nor the red of H alpha.
http://www.deepsky-drawings.com/m-027-t635/dsdlang/fr


M 27 t635 bl 2011 09 06.jpg


Have you heard about, or seen them*? What hue ? Under what skies and scope*?
Thanks for your replies

Bertrand
http://www.deepsky-drawings.com

[Ivan Maly]

I see it (at least the "apple core") as greenish turquoise without a filter with 12" and up under good conditions from a dark-blue zone site (e.g. SQM 21.8, elev. 700 m).

[Howard B]

I’ve never seen any obvious color in the Dumbbell either, but I’ve never really looked for colors. This huge planetary seems bright enough to show color, but perhaps it would be easier to see in a small scope at low power so it would appear more concentrated.

[Howard B]

Here is my drawing of M27 showing how colorless it appears to my eye through my 28-inch scope:

BigM27SketchScan_stars_rotated_crop_invert_adj2.jpg

Lots of subtle detail though. This drawing is also published in my article about M27 in the July 2018 edition of Sky & Telescope. I'm curious to try to see any color in this planetary using my 8-inch at very low power next spring.

[Raul Leon]

Hi,
I have not observed color in M27 in my 15inch Dob, but when I used to have a 4inch reflector I saw a light green color, so maybe the smaller aperture might make the color more concentrated? Just a guess, Raul Attached is a sketch with my 15 inch Dob at 198x Scan0688.jpg