Galaxy · Irregular
UGC 3501
UGC 3501 is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Auriga, 50.6 million light-years away.
| Type | Irregular |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Auriga |
| Distance | 50.6 million light-years (15.50 Mpc) |
| Diameter | 17,700 light-years · 0.2 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −15.40 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 15.55 |
| Luminosity | 0.0063 × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 6h 38m 38.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +49° 15′ 30″ |
| Source | Updated Nearby Galaxy Catalog (Karachentsev et al. 2013) |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 15.55. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 41° S. North of latitude 41° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in December, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 51 million years ago. At that time the dinosaurs were gone and mammals were diversifying; there was no human lineage yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 896.8 billion years.