Galaxy · Lenticular
NGC 5171
NGC 5171 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Virgo, 320.5 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Distance | 320.5 million light-years (98.26 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 150,400 light-years · 1.7 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −21.83 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 13.13 |
| Luminosity | 2.4 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 13h 29m 21.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | +11° 44′ 06″ |
| Source | 2MASS Redshift Survey (Huchra et al. 2012) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 13.13. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 78° S. North of latitude 78° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in April, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 320 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 5,685.1 billion years.