Andromeda
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Galaxy

Messier 99

Also M99 · NGC 4254

Open in OuranosCompare its size

A face-on spiral galaxy in the Virgo Cluster with a strikingly lopsided spiral pattern.

Measured

Distance
45.2 million light-years
Size
about 68,000 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Coma Berenices
Position (J2000)
RA 12h 18m 50s, Dec +14.42°

How far, from the Sun

45.2 million light-years. To cross it:

  • Light45.2 million years
  • Voyager 1's speed804 billion years
  • Driving at 100 km/h488 trillion years

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

Facts

  • Lord Rosse saw its spiral form in the 1840s, among the first galaxies seen to be spirals.
  • It is moving away from us at about 2,410 km/s (NASA/IPAC NED).

Where this comes from

  • Cosmicflows-3, Tully, Courtois & Sorce 2016, AJ 152, 50 (13.87 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.