Galaxy · Lenticular
NGC 621
NGC 621 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Triangulum, 240.5 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Triangulum |
| Distance | 240.5 million light-years (73.74 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 107,300 light-years · 1.2 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −21.54 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 12.80 |
| Luminosity | 1.8 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 1h 36m 49.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | +35° 30′ 44″ |
| Source | 2MASS Redshift Survey (Huchra et al. 2012) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 12.80. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 54° S. North of latitude 54° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in October, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 241 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 4,266.4 billion years.