Planetary nebula
NGC 6369
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 | Ophiuchus |
| Distance | 1,500 pc (4.9 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.9 ly |
| Central star | V 15.9 · WC 4 |
| Expansion speed | 42 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G002.4+05.8 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 29m 20.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | −23° 45′ 32″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 66° N. South of latitude 66° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 4,892 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 87 million years.