Planetary nebula
NGC 6881
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 | Cygnus |
| Distance | 3,200 pc (10.4 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.2 ly |
| Central star | V 18.4 |
| Expansion speed | 17 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G074.5+02.1 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 20h 10m 52.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +37° 24′ 42″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 53° S. North of latitude 53° N it never sets. 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 10 thousand 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 185 million years.