Galaxy · Elliptical
Draco
Draco is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Draco, 260,900 light-years away.
| Type | Elliptical |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Draco |
| Distance | 260,900 light-years (80.0 kpc) |
| Diameter | 2,740 light-years · 0.031 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −9.30 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 10.22 |
| Luminosity | 2.3 × 10⁻⁵ × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 20m 01.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +57° 54′ 34″ |
| Source | Updated Nearby Galaxy Catalog (Karachentsev et al. 2013) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 10.22. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 32° S. North of latitude 32° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 261 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 4.6 billion years.