Planetary nebula
M 1- 4
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 | Perseus |
| Distance | 2,300 pc (7.5 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.1 ly |
| Central star | V 16.7 |
| Expansion speed | 13 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G147.4-02.3 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 3h 41m 43.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +52° 17′ 00″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 38° S. North of latitude 38° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in November, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 7,502 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 133 million years.