Planetary nebula
NGC 3195
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. The distance is a statistical estimate, uncertain by 30–50 %.
| Type | Planetary nebula |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Chamaeleon |
| Distance | 1,890 pc (6.2 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 1.3 ly |
| Central star | V 15.3 |
| Expansion speed | 26 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G296.6-20.0 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 10h 09m 22.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −80° 51′ 31″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 9° N. South of latitude 9° S it never sets.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 6,164 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 109 million years.