NGC 3172
NGC 3172
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Lenticular
type · S0
284 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
94k ly
across
15.0
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 284 million ly from home, you are seeing Polarissima Borealis as it looked roughly 284 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 6251Elliptical36 million ly
apartIC 1143Elliptical41 million ly
apartNGC 6252Spiral41 million ly
apartIC 1139Galaxy45 million ly
apartNGC 2908Barred spiral47 million ly
apartNGC 5712Elliptical64 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartIC 1143Elliptical41 million ly
apartNGC 6252Spiral41 million ly
apartIC 1139Galaxy45 million ly
apartNGC 2908Barred spiral47 million ly
apartNGC 5712Elliptical64 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).