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Reflection nebula

The Running Man Nebula

Also NGC 1977 · NGC 1973 · NGC 1975

Open in Ouranos

A blue reflection nebula just north of the Orion Nebula, where dark dust lanes trace a running figure.

Measured

Distance
1,294 light-years
Constellation
Orion
Position (J2000)
RA 5h 35m 16s, Dec −4.82°

How far, from the Sun

1,290 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light1,290 years
  • Voyager 1's speed23 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h14 billion years

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

Facts

  • It is part of the Orion star-forming complex.
  • 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 DR2 cluster parallax 2.521 ± 0.069 mas (Cantat-Gaudin et al. 2020, A&A 640, 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.