RCW 88 of a larger halo of fainter nebulosity extending perhaps out to 10 arcmin. The RCW catalogue states the Hα image size is 3'×2. RCW 88 is located about 3300 parsecs (10,000 light years) from us, though other estimates place this at a closer 1800±300 pc. or 1800±200 pc. Assuming the former distance and the diameter as 5'-6' across, finds by simple trigonometry the true size subtends a minimum of 5±1 parsecs (16±3 light-years.) This small emission nebula shows a mean radial velocity of −18 km.s, and is also a faint radio source that was identified by Lloyd Higgs in 1971.
Lunar distance (astronomy) Lunar distance (astronomy) Lunar distance (LD or formula_1), also called Earth–Moon distance, Earth–Moon characteristic distance, or distance to the Moon, is a unit of measure in astronomy. It is the average distance from the center of Earth to the center of the Moon. More technically, it is the mean semi-major axis of the geocentric lunar orbit. It may also refer to the time-averaged distance between the centers of the Earth and the Moon, or less commonly, the instantaneous Earth–Moon distance. The lunar distance is approximately a quarter of a million miles (). The mean semi-major axis has a value of