Galaxy · Lenticular
NGC 6271
NGC 6271 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Hercules, 491.2 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Hercules |
| Distance | 491.2 million light-years (150.60 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 164,000 light-years · 1.9 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −21.81 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 14.08 |
| Luminosity | 2.3 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 16h 58m 50.7s |
| Declination (J2000) | +27° 57′ 54″ |
| Source | 2MASS Redshift Survey (Huchra et al. 2012) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 14.08. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 62° S. North of latitude 62° N it never sets. 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 491 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 8,713.4 billion years.