Planetary nebula
NGC 2438
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 | Puppis |
| Distance | 2,000 pc (6.5 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 2.0 ly |
| Expansion speed | 22 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G231.8+04.1 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 7h 41m 50.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | −14° 44′ 08″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 75° N. South of latitude 75° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in January, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 6,523 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 116 million years.