Galaxy · Spiral
ESO 137-018
ESO 137-018 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Triangulum Australe, 20.9 million light-years away.
| Type | Spiral |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Triangulum Australe |
| Distance | 20.9 million light-years (6.40 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 25,300 light-years · 0.29 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −18.70 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 10.33 |
| Luminosity | 0.13 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 16h 20m 59.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | −60° 29′ 15″ |
| Source | Updated Nearby Galaxy Catalog (Karachentsev et al. 2013) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 10.33. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 30° N. South of latitude 30° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in May, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 21 million years ago. At that time the dinosaurs were gone and mammals were diversifying; there was no human lineage yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 370.3 billion years.