Planetary nebula
A 75
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. The distance is a statistical estimate, uncertain by 30–50 %.
| Type | Planetary nebula |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Cepheus |
| Distance | 2,510 pc (8.2 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 2.2 ly |
| Central star | IUE obsns |
| Expansion speed | 42 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G101.8+08.7 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 21h 26m 24.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | +62° 53′ 27″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 27° S. North of latitude 27° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in August, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 8,187 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 145 million years.