Planetary nebula
NGC 2818
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 | Pyxis |
| Distance | 3,570 pc (11.6 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 2.8 ly |
| Expansion speed | 36 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G261.9+08.5 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 9h 16m 00.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | −36° 37′ 32″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 53° N. South of latitude 53° 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 12 thousand 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 207 million years.