Galaxy
The Surfboard Galaxy
Also M108 · NGC 3556
A barred spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on, near the Owl Nebula on the sky.
Measured
- Distance
- 31.1 million light-years
- Size
- about 70,000 light-years across (approximate)
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Position (J2000)
- RA 11h 11m 31s, Dec +55.67°
How far, from the Sun
31.1 million light-years. To cross it:
- Light31.2 million years
- Voyager 1's speed554 billion years
- Driving at 100 km/h336 trillion years
Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.
Facts
- It shows no bright central bulge, with dust and star-forming knots across its disc.
- It is moving away from us at about 700 km/s (NASA/IPAC NED).
Where this comes from
- Cosmicflows-3, Tully, Courtois & Sorce 2016, AJ 152, 50 (9.55 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.