NGC 1278
NGC 1278
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Elliptical
type · E
281 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
117k ly
across
12.4
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 281 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 1278 as it looked roughly 281 million years ago. The photons left before that much of history had passed, and are only now reaching us. This distance is estimated from the galaxy's redshift, so the lookback time is approximate.
Nearest galaxies
NGC 1271Lenticular4.0 million ly
apartNGC 1250Lenticular5.3 million ly
apartIC 290Barred spiral10 million ly
apartNGC 1212Lenticular10 million ly
apartIC 308Lenticular12 million ly
apartNGC 1259Elliptical12 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartNGC 1250Lenticular5.3 million ly
apartIC 290Barred spiral10 million ly
apartNGC 1212Lenticular10 million ly
apartIC 308Lenticular12 million ly
apartNGC 1259Elliptical12 million ly
apart
Source: structural data (position, morphology, brightness, redshift) from OpenNGC (CC BY-SA). Distance computed by gravityfinder from redshift via Hubble's law (H0 = 70 km/s/Mpc).