Planetary nebula
A 30
Planetary nebula
A shell of gas thrown off by a dying Sun-like star, glowing in the ultraviolet light of the hot core at its centre. Within a few tens of thousands of years it will disperse and fade from view.
| Type | Planetary nebula |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Cancer |
| Distance | 1,410 pc (4.6 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 2.8 ly |
| Central star | V 14.4 · O VI |
| Expansion speed | 40 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G208.5+33.2 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 8h 46m 54.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +17° 52′ 33″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 72° S. North of latitude 72° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in January, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 4,599 years ago. At that time the first farming villages were being founded; there was no writing yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 82 million years.