How long does the glowing phase of a typical Planetary Nebula (PN) last before its gas dissipates into the ISM?
Answer
About ten thousand years.
The phase during which a Planetary Nebula glows brightly is relatively short on cosmic timescales. This luminosity is generated because the gas shell, shed by the dying star, is ionized by intense ultraviolet radiation streaming from the exposed hot core, known as the White Dwarf Nucleus (P.N.N.). Once the shell is ejected via stellar winds during the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase, this luminous stage persists for approximately ten thousand years before the expanding gas becomes too diffuse to remain visible or ionized.
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