Galaxy · Lenticular
IC 4944
IC 4944 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Telescopium, 267.6 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Telescopium |
| Distance | 267.6 million light-years (82.04 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 107,400 light-years · 1.2 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −21.17 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 13.40 |
| Luminosity | 1.3 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 20h 07m 08.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | −54° 26′ 49″ |
| Source | 2MASS Redshift Survey (Huchra et al. 2012) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 13.40. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 36° N. South of latitude 36° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in July, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 268 million years ago. At that time complex animals were spreading through the seas and over the land; there were no dinosaurs yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 4,746.7 billion years.