Planetary nebula
NGC 2022
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 | Orion |
| Distance | 1,300 pc (4.2 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.4 ly |
| Expansion speed | 26 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G196.6-10.9 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 5h 42m 06.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +9° 05′ 18″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 81° S. It stands highest at midnight in December, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 4,240 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 75 million years.