Nebula
Sh2-39
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 | Sagittarius |
| Distance | 3,990 pc (13.0 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 41.6 ly |
| WISE name | G012.474-01.140 |
| Catalogue status | Known H II region |
| Source | WISE H II Catalog v3.0 |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 18h 17m 02.7s |
| Declination (J2000) | −18° 40′ 02″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 71° N. South of latitude 71° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 13 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 231 million years.