Galaxy · Lenticular
NGC 3172
NGC 3172 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Ursa Minor, 284.1 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Ursa Minor |
| Distance | 284.1 million light-years (87.09 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 138,400 light-years · 1.6 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −22.37 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 12.33 |
| Luminosity | 3.9 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 11h 47m 12.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | +89° 05′ 36″ |
| Source | 2MASS Redshift Survey (Huchra et al. 2012) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 12.33. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 1° S. North of latitude 1° N it never sets.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 284 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 5,038.8 billion years.