Star
WR 104
Also V5097 Sgr
A pair of hot massive stars whose colliding winds wind dust into a pinwheel spiral.
Measured
- Distance
- about 8,400 light-years (published estimates 8,020–13,400)
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Position (J2000)
- RA 18h 02m 04s, Dec −23.63°
How far, from the Sun
About 8,400 light-years. To cross it:
- Light8,400 years
- Voyager 1's speed149 million years
- Driving at 100 km/h90.7 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 colliding stellar winds form a spiral of dust, first imaged in 1999.
- The spiral turns once every 241 days, the orbit of its two stars.
Where this comes from
- Soulain et al. 2018 (2.58 ± 0.12 kpc); Gaia DR3 parallax suggests about 4.1 kpc
Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.