Planetary nebula
NGC 3211
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 | 1,910 pc (6.2 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.5 ly |
| Expansion speed | 27 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G286.3-04.8 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 10h 17m 50.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | −62° 40′ 09″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 27° N. South of latitude 27° 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 6,230 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 111 million years.