NGC 3987
NGC 3987
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Barred spiral
type · SBb
211 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
167k ly
across
12.9
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 211 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 3987 as it looked roughly 211 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 4000Barred spiral1.1 million ly
apartNGC 4018Spiral1.9 million ly
apartNGC 3989Barred spiral2.2 million ly
apartNGC 4005Lenticular3.2 million ly
apartNGC 4023Barred spiral5.4 million ly
apartNGC 4022Lenticular7.8 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartNGC 4018Spiral1.9 million ly
apartNGC 3989Barred spiral2.2 million ly
apartNGC 4005Lenticular3.2 million ly
apartNGC 4023Barred spiral5.4 million ly
apartNGC 4022Lenticular7.8 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).