Galaxy
Messier 77
Also M77 · NGC 1068 · Cetus A
A spiral galaxy with an intensely bright, active core: one of the nearest Seyfert galaxies.
Measured
- Distance
- about 45.7 million light-years (published estimates 32.6 million–53.8 million)
- Size
- about 92,000 light-years across (approximate)
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Position (J2000)
- RA 2h 42m 41s, Dec −0.01°
How far, from the Sun
About 45.7 million light-years. To cross it:
- Light45.7 million years
- Voyager 1's speed811 billion years
- Driving at 100 km/h493 trillion years
Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.
Facts
- Its active nucleus is fed by gas falling onto a supermassive black hole, partly hidden by dust.
- It is moving away from us at about 1,140 km/s (NASA/IPAC NED).
How it was found
- It is one of the six galaxies Carl Seyfert described in 1943, the first of the class named after him.
Where this comes from
- 14 Mpc (Gil de Paz et al. 2007, ApJS 173, 185); other estimates include 10 (Tully et al. 2008, Tully-Fisher) and 16.5 Mpc (as SIMBAD lists it, citing Mould et al. 2000)
- 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.