Planetary nebula
NGC 6445
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 | Sagittarius |
| Distance | 2,000 pc (6.5 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 1.0 ly |
| Central star | V 19.0 · Contin. |
| Expansion speed | 38 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G008.0+03.9 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 49m 15.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | −20° 00′ 35″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 70° N. South of latitude 70° 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 6,523 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 116 million years.