Nebula
RCW 68
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 | Crux |
| Distance | 4,310 pc (14.1 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 17.4 ly |
| WISE name | G301.817+00.784 |
| Catalogue status | Known H II region |
| Source | WISE H II Catalog v3.0 |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 12h 41m 55.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −62° 04′ 00″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 28° N. South of latitude 28° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 14 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 249 million years.