Planetary nebula
Vy 2- 2
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. The distance is a statistical estimate, uncertain by 30–50 %.
| Type | Planetary nebula |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Aquila |
| Distance | 2,030 pc (6.6 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 0.4 ly |
| Central star | V 14.6 |
| Expansion speed | 18 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G045.4-02.7 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 24m 21.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | +9° 53′ 55″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 80° S. It stands highest at midnight in July, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 6,621 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 117 million years.