Andromeda
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Emission nebula

The Crescent Nebula

Also NGC 6888 · Caldwell 27 · Sh 2-105

Open in Ouranos

A shell of gas shaped by the fierce wind of the Wolf–Rayet star WR 136 at its centre.

Measured

Distance
5,651 light-years
Constellation
Cygnus
Position (J2000)
RA 20h 12m 06s, Dec +38.35°

How far, from the Sun

5,650 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light5,650 years
  • Voyager 1's speed100 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h61 billion years

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

Facts

  • WR 136 is near the end of its life and has already shed its outer layers.
  • 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 0.5772 ± 0.0160 mas of WR 136, Gaia DR3 2061690233159124352 (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.