Planetary nebula
IC 2165
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 | Canis Major |
| Distance | 2,900 pc (9.5 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.4 ly |
| Central star | V 17.9 |
| Expansion speed | 20 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G221.3-12.3 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 6h 21m 42.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −12° 59′ 10″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 77° N. South of latitude 77° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in December, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 9,459 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 168 million years.