Andromeda
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Galaxy

The Antennae Galaxies

Also NGC 4038 · NGC 4039 · Caldwell 60 · Caldwell 61 · Arp 244

Open in OuranosCompare its size

Two spiral galaxies in the middle of colliding, their merger setting off bursts of star formation.

Measured

Distance
72 million light-years
Size
about 90,000 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Corvus
Position (J2000)
RA 12h 01m 53s, Dec −18.87°

How far, from the Sun

72 million light-years. To cross it:

  • Light72 million years
  • Voyager 1's speed1.28 trillion years
  • Driving at 100 km/h777 trillion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • Two long tails of stars thrown out by the collision stretch far from them.
  • They are one of the nearest and best-studied galaxy mergers.
  • It is moving away from us at about 1,620 km/s (NASA/IPAC NED).

Where this comes from

  • Cosmicflows-3, Tully, Courtois & Sorce 2016, AJ 152, 50 (22.08 Mpc)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.