the earliest molecule to have been formed in the Universe (about 100,000 years after the Big Bang), was detected in 2019 for the first time in space in NGC 7027. There is also evidence for the presence of nanodiamond in NGC 7027. It has been photographed multiple times by the Hubble Space Telescope since its launch in 1990. Prior to these observations, NGC 7027 was thought to be a proto-planetary nebula with the central star too cool to ionize any of the gas, but it is now known to be a planetary nebula in the earliest stage of its development. The progenitor star is believed to have been about 3 to 4 times the mass of the Sun before the nebula was formed. In 1977 at Yerkes Observatory, a small Schmidt telescope was used to derive an accurate optical position for the planetary nebula NGC 7027 to allow comparison between photographs and radio maps of the object. In a 6" telescope at around 50× it appears as a relatively bright bluish star. It is best viewed with the highest magnification possible. See also List of NGC objects References External links Protoplanetary nebulae Planetary nebulae 7027 Cygnus (constellation)