Planetary nebula
NGC 6886
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 | Sagitta |
| Distance | 1,750 pc (5.7 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.2 ly |
| Central star | V 18.0 |
| Expansion speed | 20 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G060.1-07.7 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 20h 12m 42.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | +19° 59′ 23″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 70° S. North of latitude 70° 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 5,708 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 101 million years.