NGC 3278
NGC 3278
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Spiral
type · Sc
139 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
55k ly
across
13.1
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 139 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 3278 as it looked roughly 139 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 3250DLenticular2.6 million ly
apartNGC 3250ESpiral7.8 million ly
apartNGC 3250Elliptical7.9 million ly
apartNGC 3318Barred spiral9.0 million ly
apartNGC 3366Barred spiral9.5 million ly
apartNGC 3244Spiral10 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartNGC 3250ESpiral7.8 million ly
apartNGC 3250Elliptical7.9 million ly
apartNGC 3318Barred spiral9.0 million ly
apartNGC 3366Barred spiral9.5 million ly
apartNGC 3244Spiral10 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).