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Planetary nebula

The Little Ghost Nebula

Also NGC 6369

Open in OuranosCompare its size

A small ring-shaped planetary nebula in Ophiuchus.

Measured

Distance
about 3,551 light-years (published estimates 3,370–3,753)
Size
about 0.6 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Position (J2000)
RA 17h 29m 20s, Dec −23.76°

How far, from the Sun

About 3,550 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light3,550 years
  • Voyager 1's speed63.1 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h38.3 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 central star is a Wolf–Rayet-type star, stripped of hydrogen.
  • 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 0.9184 ± 0.0494 mas of the central star, Gaia DR3 4111368477921050368 (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.