RCW 120

RCW 120 is an emission nebula and H II region in the southern Milky Way and located some 4,300 light-years from Earth.^[1]

RCW 120

Emission nebula
H II region
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension	17h 12m 23.2s
Declination	−38° 26′ 51.2″
Distance	4,300 ly
Constellation	Scorpius
Designations	GUM 58 Sh 2-3 Green Ring Nebula
See also: Lists of nebulae

Its designation appears in the RCW Catalogue published in 1960, whose circular diameter size is 6 arcmin.^[2] It also catalogued as Sh 2-3 and Gum 58.

Veta S. Avedisova considers RCW 120 is being ionised by the O8 V star CD -38 11636^[3] and places the nebula in the star formation region SFR 348.26+0.47^[4] along with 3 Astrophysical maser CH87 347.386+0.266.

The Herschel infra-red telescope's image shows an embryonic star that is likely to become one of the brightest stars in our Galaxy at some time within the next few hundred thousand years. The star now appears about ten times more massive than the Sun and may grow much larger by accreting material from the surrounding gas and dust.^[5]

Gallery

• 
  RCW 120, also known as Sharpless 2-3 was captured by the SMARTS 0.9-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

  ^[6]

External links

• The Galactic HII Region RCW 120