Messier 27 (M27), commonly called the Dumbbell Nebula because of its two visible lobes, contains a star going through its planetary nebula phase. The name “planetary nebula” is a misnomer. Planetary nebulas have nothing to do with planets. Astronomers in the 18th century thought these objects were planets, but now we know differently. The gasses in planetary nebulas are visible to us primarily because the heat and radiation emanating from the central white dwarf ionizes those gasses, causing them to give off their own light much like a neon sign at the local drive-in.