The sky around NGC 1399 at true scale, north up and east left, with stars to magnitude 8. The circles show the field of a low-power eyepiece and of 10×50 binoculars.
NGC 1399 is an elliptical galaxy (E) in Fornax, 65 million light-years away
NGC 1399 (ESO 358-045, PGC 13418) is an elliptical galaxy (E) in the constellation Fornax, 65 million light-years away. It shines at magnitude 9.4 and spans 8.5′ × 7.7′ of sky, about 161,000 light-years across. It is best in a small telescope, 4 to 6 inches, and it is highest in the evening sky in January.
Galaxy: a system of billions of stars, gas and dust held together by gravity, far outside the Milky Way. Spiral galaxies have a disk with arms; elliptical galaxies are smooth, round or oval swarms of older stars.
Finding NGC 1399 from Acamar
NGC 1399 lies 9.3° northeast of Acamar, the magnitude 2.9 star. A fist held at arm's length covers about 10°.
NGC 1399 is highest in the evening in January
The chart gives its height above the horizon at 9 pm through the year, from 60°N to 40°S. It can be seen from the whole southern hemisphere and north to about 55°N, and never sets south of 55°S.
NGC 1399 is 65 million light-years away
The light seen from NGC 1399 tonight left it about 65 million years ago, long before modern humans existed. It ranks 147 of 422 by distance among the galaxies on Go Astronomy. Distance source: SBF, Tonry 2001.
Objects within 6° of NGC 1399
No other Messier, Caldwell or Herschel 400 object lies within 6°.
