Star-forming nebula (H II region)

WISE G321.015-00.527

Hydrogen glowing round newborn massive stars — these trace the spiral arms.

Measured

Distance
about 13,372 light-years

How far, from the Sun

About 13,400 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light13,400 years
  • Voyager 1's speed238 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h144 billion years

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

Facts

  • distance estimated from how fast its gas moves (a kinematic distance, uncertain by about a thousand light years)
  • About 31 light-years across in infrared.

Where this comes from

  • H II regions: Anderson et al. 2014, ApJS 212, 1 (the WISE Catalog of Galactic H II Regions), via the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg (DOI 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.