Planetary nebula
NGC 6644
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 | Sagittarius |
| Distance | 2,180 pc (7.1 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 0.1 ly |
| Central star | V 15.6 |
| PN G name | PN G008.3-07.3 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 18h 32m 34.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | −25° 07′ 44″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 65° N. South of latitude 65° 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 7,110 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 126 million years.