Planetary nebula
NGC 5873
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 | Lupus |
| Distance | 3,350 pc (10.9 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 0.4 ly |
| Central star | V 15.5 · WC ? |
| Expansion speed | 40 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G331.3+16.8 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 15h 12m 50.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | −38° 07′ 29″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 52° N. South of latitude 52° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in May, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 11 thousand 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 194 million years.