Nebula
RCW 40
H II region
A cloud of ionised hydrogen (H II region): a stellar nursery glowing in the ultraviolet light of the young, hot O and B stars inside it. The distance follows from the gas’s radial velocity and the Galaxy’s rotation curve (kinematic method).
| Type | Nebula |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Vela |
| Distance | 2,150 pc (7.0 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 28.2 ly |
| WISE name | G269.174-01.436 |
| Catalogue status | Known H II region |
| Source | WISE H II Catalog v3.0 |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 9h 02m 15.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | −48° 41′ 16″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 41° N. South of latitude 41° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in February, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 7,012 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 124 million years.