Planetary nebula
IC 1454
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 | 3,380 pc (11.0 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 1.5 ly |
| Expansion speed | 46 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G117.5+18.9 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 22h 42m 35.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | +80° 26′ 45″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 10° S. North of latitude 10° N it never sets.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 11 thousand 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 196 million years.