Planetary nebula
NGC 4361
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 | Corvus |
| Distance | 1,400 pc (4.6 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 1.4 ly |
| Central star | V 13.2 · O(H) |
| Expansion speed | 32 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G294.1+43.6 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 12h 24m 31.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −18° 47′ 09″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 71° N. South of latitude 71° 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 4,566 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.