Planetary nebula
NGC 6072
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 | Scorpius |
| Distance | 1,800 pc (5.9 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 2.0 ly |
| Expansion speed | 6 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G342.1+10.8 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 16h 12m 58.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | −36° 13′ 39″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 54° N. South of latitude 54° 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 5,871 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 104 million years.