Planetary nebula
Ps 1
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 | Pegasus |
| Distance | 9,600 pc (31.3 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.2 ly |
| Central star | V 14.9 |
| PN G name | PN G065.0-27.3 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 21h 29m 59.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +12° 10′ 26″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 78° S. North of latitude 78° 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 31 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 555 million years.