Distance and age of the pulsar wind nebula 3C 58

Context. A growing number of researchers present evidence that the pu lsar wind nebula 3C 58 is much older than predicted by its proposed connection to the historical supernova of A.D. 118 1. There is also a great diversity of arguments. The stronges t of these arguments rely heavily on the assumed distance of 3.2 kpc det ermined with Hi absorption measurements. Aims. This publication aims at determining a more accurate distan ce for 3C 58 and re-evaluating the arguments for a larger age. Methods. I have re-visited the distance determination of 3C 58 based o n new Hi data from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey and our recent improvements in the knowledge of the rotation cur ve of the outer Milky Way Galaxy. I have also used newly determ ined distances to objects in the neighbourhood, which are based o n direct measurements by trigonometric parallax. Results. I have derived a new more reliable distance estimate of 2 kpc f or 3C 58. This makes the connection between the pulsar wind nebula and the historical event from A.D. 1181 once again muc h more viable.