Galaxy · Lenticular
NGC 6224
NGC 6224 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Hercules, 420.6 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Hercules |
| Distance | 420.6 million light-years (128.96 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 176,400 light-years · 2 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −22.42 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 13.13 |
| Luminosity | 4.1 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 16h 48m 18.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | +6° 18′ 44″ |
| 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 84° S. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 421 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 7,461.4 billion years.