Cosmic Scale
Little Ghost Nebula
Planetary nebula · About 3,400 light-years
How big is Little Ghost Nebula?
Little Ghost Nebula is about 0.50 light-years across.
See Little Ghost Nebula in 3D, at true scale
The Little Ghost Nebula is a ring of gas thrown off by a dying star, seen close to the centre of our galaxy in the sky. Its star is a fierce Wolf-Rayet-type core, hot enough to strip electrons off the gas around it. Blue-green shows oxygen, and red shows hydrogen and nitrogen.
At a glance
| Diameter | 0.50 light-years |
|---|---|
| Diameter compared with Earth | 3.7 × 10⁸ × Earth |
| Distance | About 3,400 light-years |
| Size | About 0.5 light-years across |
| Constellation | Ophiuchus |
| Also known as | NGC 6369 |
Good to know
- Amateur astronomers named it because it looks like a pale ghost in small telescopes.
- Its central star blows a fierce, fast wind, like the giant Wolf-Rayet stars.
- Our Sun will throw off a cloud like this in about 5 billion years.
- Next smaller: Saturn Nebula · 0.46 light-years
- Next larger: Cat's Eye Nebula · 0.50 light-years