Galaxy · Lenticular
NGC 2418
NGC 2418 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Gemini, 234.7 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Gemini |
| Distance | 234.7 million light-years (71.96 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 125,000 light-years · 1.4 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −22.25 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 12.04 |
| Luminosity | 3.5 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 7h 36m 37.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | +17° 53′ 02″ |
| Source | 2MASS Redshift Survey (Huchra et al. 2012) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 12.04. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 72° S. North of latitude 72° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in January, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 235 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 4,163.5 billion years.