Galaxy · Lenticular
NGC 3990
NGC 3990 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major, 33.6 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Distance | 33.6 million light-years (10.30 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 16,400 light-years · 0.19 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −17.30 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 12.76 |
| Luminosity | 0.036 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 11h 57m 35.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | +55° 27′ 31″ |
| Source | Updated Nearby Galaxy Catalog (Karachentsev et al. 2013) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 12.76. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 35° S. North of latitude 35° 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 34 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 595.9 billion years.