Planetary nebula
NGC 2867
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 | Carina |
| Distance | 1,400 pc (4.6 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.3 ly |
| Central star | WC 3 |
| Expansion speed | 19 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G278.1-05.9 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 9h 21m 25.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −58° 18′ 48″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 32° N. South of latitude 32° 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 4,566 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 81 million years.