Planetary nebula
Cn 3-1
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 | Ophiuchus |
| Distance | 2,440 pc (8.0 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 0.2 ly |
| Central star | V 12.5 · WR/Of |
| Expansion speed | 10 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G038.2+12.0 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 18h 17m 32.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | +10° 09′ 14″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 80° S. North of latitude 80° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 7,958 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 141 million years.