Planetary nebula
IC 3568
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 | Camelopardalis |
| Distance | 480 pc (1.6 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.1 ly |
| Central star | V 13.4 · O3(H) |
| Expansion speed | 8 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G123.6+34.5 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 12h 33m 06.7s |
| Declination (J2000) | +82° 33′ 50″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 7° S. North of latitude 7° N it never sets.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 460. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 28 million years.