Planetary nebula
NGC 7027
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 | 1,500 pc (4.9 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.3 ly |
| Central star | V 16.3 |
| Expansion speed | 22 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G084.9-03.4 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 21h 07m 01.7s |
| Declination (J2000) | +42° 14′ 10″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 48° S. North of latitude 48° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in August, 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.