Planetary nebula
NGC 3699
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 | Centaurus |
| Distance | 1,370 pc (4.5 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 1.0 ly |
| Expansion speed | 27 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G292.6+01.2 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 11h 27m 59.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | −59° 57′ 32″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 30° N. South of latitude 30° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 4,468 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 79 million years.