Planetary nebula
Hu 1-2
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 | Cygnus |
| Distance | 1,500 pc (4.9 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.2 ly |
| Central star | V 17.3 |
| Expansion speed | 29 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G086.5-08.8 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 21h 33m 08.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +39° 38′ 01″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 50° S. North of latitude 50° 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 4,892 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 87 million years.