Planetary nebula
NGC 6058
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 | Hercules |
| Distance | 2,530 pc (8.3 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 0.9 ly |
| Central star | V 13.9 · O(H) |
| Expansion speed | 28 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G064.6+48.2 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 16h 04m 26.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | +40° 40′ 57″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 49° S. North of latitude 49° N 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 8,252 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 146 million years.