NGC 4946
NGC 4946
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Elliptical
type · E
142 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
83k ly
across
12.3
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 142 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 4946 as it looked roughly 142 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 5011ASpiral3.7 million ly
apartNGC 5011Elliptical3.7 million ly
apartNGC 4811Lenticular7.4 million ly
apartNGC 4743Lenticular9.4 million ly
apartNGC 4696BElliptical10 million ly
apartNGC 4677Lenticular11 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartNGC 5011Elliptical3.7 million ly
apartNGC 4811Lenticular7.4 million ly
apartNGC 4743Lenticular9.4 million ly
apartNGC 4696BElliptical10 million ly
apartNGC 4677Lenticular11 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).