Galaxy · Spiral
IC 356
IC 356 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Camelopardalis, 41.7 million light-years away.
| Type | Spiral |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Camelopardalis |
| Distance | 41.7 million light-years (12.79 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 91,600 light-years · 1 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −21.74 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 8.79 |
| Luminosity | 2.2 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 4h 07m 46.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | +69° 48′ 45″ |
| Source | 2MASS Redshift Survey (Huchra et al. 2012) |
In the sky
Too faint for the naked eye (magnitude 8.79); binoculars will find it. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 20° S. North of latitude 20° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in November, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 42 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 740.0 billion years.