Galaxy · Lenticular
NGC 2950
NGC 2950 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major, 62.3 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Distance | 62.3 million light-years (19.10 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 70,300 light-years · 0.8 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −20.40 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 11.01 |
| Luminosity | 0.63 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 9h 42m 35.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | +58° 51′ 04″ |
| Source | 2MASS Redshift Survey (Huchra et al. 2012) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 11.01. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 31° S. North of latitude 31° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in February, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 62 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 1,105.1 billion years.