NGC 686
NGC 686
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Elliptical
type · E-S0
216 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
84k ly
across
13.4
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 216 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 686 as it looked roughly 216 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 775Spiral13 million ly
apartIC 1768Lenticular17 million ly
apartIC 1763Barred spiral18 million ly
apartNGC 823Elliptical19 million ly
apartNGC 808Barred spiral19 million ly
apartNGC 836Lenticular23 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartIC 1768Lenticular17 million ly
apartIC 1763Barred spiral18 million ly
apartNGC 823Elliptical19 million ly
apartNGC 808Barred spiral19 million ly
apartNGC 836Lenticular23 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).