NGC 3256
NGC 3256
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Barred spiral
type · Sbc
131 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
125k ly
across
11.6
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 131 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 3256 as it looked roughly 131 million years ago. The photons left before that much of history had passed, and are only now reaching us. This distance is estimated from the galaxy's redshift, so the lookback time is approximate.
Nearest galaxies
NGC 3256ABarred spiral1.2 million ly
apartNGC 3262Lenticular3.4 million ly
apartNGC 3256BBarred spiral4.1 million ly
apartNGC 3283Lenticular5.7 million ly
apartNGC 3366Barred spiral6.1 million ly
apartNGC 3318Barred spiral6.5 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartNGC 3262Lenticular3.4 million ly
apartNGC 3256BBarred spiral4.1 million ly
apartNGC 3283Lenticular5.7 million ly
apartNGC 3366Barred spiral6.1 million ly
apartNGC 3318Barred spiral6.5 million ly
apart
Source: structural data (position, morphology, brightness, redshift) from OpenNGC (CC BY-SA). Distance computed by gravityfinder from redshift via Hubble's law (H0 = 70 km/s/Mpc).