NGC 1281
NGC 1281
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Elliptical
type · E
196 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
45k ly
across
13.3
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 196 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 1281 as it looked roughly 196 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
IC 309Lenticular4.1 million ly
apartNGC 1293Elliptical4.5 million ly
apartNGC 1334Barred spiral6.4 million ly
apartIC 311Barred spiral7.0 million ly
apartIC 313Elliptical9.1 million ly
apartNGC 1164Spiral12 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartNGC 1293Elliptical4.5 million ly
apartNGC 1334Barred spiral6.4 million ly
apartIC 311Barred spiral7.0 million ly
apartIC 313Elliptical9.1 million ly
apartNGC 1164Spiral12 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).