Planetary nebula
NGC 6153
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 | 1,600 pc (5.2 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.6 ly |
| Expansion speed | 18 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G341.8+05.4 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 16h 31m 30.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | −40° 15′ 22″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 50° N. South of latitude 50° 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 5,219 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 93 million years.