Andromeda
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Planetary nebula

The Blue Snowball Nebula

Also NGC 7662 · Caldwell 22

Open in OuranosCompare its size

A small, bright planetary nebula in Andromeda, nicknamed the Blue Snowball.

Measured

Distance
about 5,732 light-years (published estimates 5,414–6,090)
Size
about 0.64 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Andromeda
Position (J2000)
RA 23h 25m 54s, Dec +42.53°

How far, from the Sun

About 5,730 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light5,730 years
  • Voyager 1's speed102 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h61.9 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • Its blue-green colour comes mostly from oxygen lit by the hot white dwarf at its centre.
  • Its distance comes from a Gaia parallax: the tiny yearly shift in its position as the Earth circles the Sun.

Where this comes from

  • Gaia DR3 parallax 0.5690 ± 0.0334 mas of the central star, Gaia DR3 1924818288379268736 (Gaia Collaboration 2023, A&A 674, A1)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.