NGC 4251
NGC 4251
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Lenticular
type · S0
50 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
34k ly
across
10.8
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 50 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 4251 as it looked roughly 50 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 4283Elliptical1.1 million ly
apartNGC 4173Barred spiral3.0 million ly
apartIC 3215Spiral3.4 million ly
apartNGC 4203Elliptical4.9 million ly
apartNGC 4670Barred spiral5.4 million ly
apartNGC 4525Spiral6.3 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartNGC 4173Barred spiral3.0 million ly
apartIC 3215Spiral3.4 million ly
apartNGC 4203Elliptical4.9 million ly
apartNGC 4670Barred spiral5.4 million ly
apartNGC 4525Spiral6.3 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).