NGC 3979
NGC 3979
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Lenticular
type · S0
278 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
99k ly
across
14.0
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 278 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 3979 as it looked roughly 278 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 4006Elliptical5.8 million ly
apartIC 754Elliptical6.6 million ly
apartNGC 4079Spiral12 million ly
apartNGC 3907BBarred spiral13 million ly
apartNGC 3907Elliptical15 million ly
apartNGC 4044Elliptical17 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartIC 754Elliptical6.6 million ly
apartNGC 4079Spiral12 million ly
apartNGC 3907BBarred spiral13 million ly
apartNGC 3907Elliptical15 million ly
apartNGC 4044Elliptical17 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).