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Planetary nebula

NGC 2346

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A butterfly-shaped planetary nebula around a close pair of stars.

Measured

Distance
4,516 light-years
Size
about 1.2 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Monoceros
Position (J2000)
RA 7h 09m 23s, Dec −0.81°

How far, from the Sun

4,520 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light4,520 years
  • Voyager 1's speed80.2 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h48.7 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 binary may have shaped the nebula's two lobes.
  • 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 0.7223 ± 0.0179 mas of the central star, Gaia DR3 3109444657456300288 (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.