NGC 6261
NGC 6261
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Lenticular
type · S0-a
491 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
156k ly
across
15.2
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 491 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 6261 as it looked roughly 491 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 6271Elliptical4.8 million ly
apartNGC 6269Elliptical5.0 million ly
apartNGC 6272Spiral5.1 million ly
apartNGC 6263Elliptical9.0 million ly
apartIC 4630Lenticular13 million ly
apartNGC 6282Barred spiral18 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartNGC 6269Elliptical5.0 million ly
apartNGC 6272Spiral5.1 million ly
apartNGC 6263Elliptical9.0 million ly
apartIC 4630Lenticular13 million ly
apartNGC 6282Barred spiral18 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).