Galaxy · Lenticular
NGC 3822
NGC 3822 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Virgo, 292.0 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Distance | 292.0 million light-years (89.53 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 130,300 light-years · 1.5 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −22.10 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 12.66 |
| Luminosity | 3 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 11h 42m 11.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | +10° 16′ 40″ |
| Source | 2MASS Redshift Survey (Huchra et al. 2012) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 12.66. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 80° S. North of latitude 80° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 292 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 5,180.0 billion years.