Planetary nebula
NGC 6781
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 | Aquila |
| Distance | 1,500 pc (4.9 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 2.6 ly |
| Central star | V 16.8 |
| Expansion speed | 12 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G041.8-02.9 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 18m 28.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | +6° 32′ 24″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 83° S. It stands highest at midnight in July, 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.