Planetary nebula
IC 4593
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 | Hercules |
| Distance | 850 pc (2.8 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.2 ly |
| Central star | V 11.2 · O5 f(H) |
| Expansion speed | 13 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G025.3+40.8 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 16h 11m 44.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | +12° 04′ 27″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 78° S. North of latitude 78° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in May, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 747 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 49 million years.