Planetary nebula
IC 4663
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 | Scorpius |
| Distance | 2,940 pc (9.6 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 0.6 ly |
| Central star | V 15.2 · IUE obsns |
| Expansion speed | 15 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G346.2-08.2 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 45m 28.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −44° 54′ 12″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 45° N. South of latitude 45° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 9,589 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 170 million years.