Planetary nebula
IC 5117
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 | Cygnus |
| Distance | 1,700 pc (5.5 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.0 ly |
| Central star | V 16.7 · WR |
| Expansion speed | 17 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G089.8-05.1 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 21h 32m 31.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +44° 35′ 48″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 45° S. North of latitude 45° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in August, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 5,545 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 98 million years.