Galaxy · Lenticular
NGC 6576
NGC 6576 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Hercules, 236.5 million light-years away.
| Type | Lenticular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Hercules |
| Distance | 236.5 million light-years (72.50 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 85,400 light-years · 0.98 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −20.35 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 13.95 |
| Luminosity | 0.6 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 18h 11m 48.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +21° 25′ 42″ |
| Source | 2MASS Redshift Survey (Huchra et al. 2012) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 13.95. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 69° S. North of latitude 69° 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 236 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 4,194.7 billion years.