<p>In the case of planetary nebulae we are talking of ~10,000 years (follow the link to the main article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula#Lifetime" rel="nofollow">Planetary Nebulae</a>).</p>

<p>In general a short lifetime for a phenomena means a time short compared to the total life of the entity it is related to. It is an informal term and does not have a fixed maximum value, but 10,000 years is a short time on most astronomical scales.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-15T19:30:34.980Z
2015-10-15T19:30:34.980Z
Conrad Turner
<p>In this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula#Planetary_nebulae" rel="nofollow">wikipedia article</a>, it describes planetary nebula as "short-lived," but I'm not sure in relation to what?  This could mean billions of years in some contexts.</p>

<p><strong>How long is short-lived?</strong></p>

<p>Bonus if there are any useful rules of thumb in astronomy terms for future uses (how stars timelines are described, versus galaxies, etc.)</p>

<nebula>
What is meant by "short lived" in the duration of a planetary nebula?
Mikey
# What is meant by "short lived" in the duration of a planetary nebula?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-10-15)

In this [wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula#Planetary_nebulae), it describes planetary nebula as "short-lived," but I'm not sure in relation to what? This could mean billions of years in some contexts.

**How long is short-lived?**

Bonus if there are any useful rules of thumb in astronomy terms for future uses (how stars timelines are described, versus galaxies, etc.)

**Tags:** nebula


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-10-15. Score: 2

In the case of planetary nebulae we are talking of ~10,000 years (follow the link to the main article on [Planetary Nebulae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula#Lifetime)).

In general a short lifetime for a phenomena means a time short compared to the total life of the entity it is related to. It is an informal term and does not have a fixed maximum value, but 10,000 years is a short time on most astronomical scales.


---

