Planetary nebula
NGC 1535
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 | Eridanus |
| Distance | 1,500 pc (4.9 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.5 ly |
| Central star | V 12.2 · O5 |
| Expansion speed | 20 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G206.4-40.5 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 4h 14m 17.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | −12° 44′ 11″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 77° N. South of latitude 77° S 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 4,892 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 87 million years.