Planetary nebula
NGC 2792
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 | Vela |
| Distance | 1,900 pc (6.2 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.4 ly |
| Expansion speed | 20 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G265.7+04.1 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 9h 12m 26.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −42° 25′ 31″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 48° N. South of latitude 48° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in February, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 6,197 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 110 million years.