NGC 1003 is a late spiral galaxy in Perseus, 35 million light-years away
NGC 1003 is a late spiral galaxy in the constellation Perseus , 35 million light-years away. It shines at magnitude 11.5 and spans 3.5′ × 50″ of sky, about 35,100 light-years across. It is a telescope object, 6 inches or larger, and it is highest in the evening sky in December.
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 1003 from Algol
Algol
NGC 1003
PERSEUS
NGC 1003 lies 5.5° west of Algol , the magnitude 2.1 star. Three fingers held at arm's length cover about 5°.
NGC 1003 is highest in the evening in December
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
60°N
JAN at 60°N: 64° high at 9 pm FEB at 60°N: 49° high at 9 pm MAR at 60°N: 35° high at 9 pm APR at 60°N: 23° high at 9 pm MAY at 60°N: 14° high at 9 pm JUN at 60°N: 11° high at 9 pm JUL at 60°N: 13° high at 9 pm AUG at 60°N: 22° high at 9 pm SEP at 60°N: 34° high at 9 pm OCT at 60°N: 49° high at 9 pm NOV at 60°N: 63° high at 9 pm DEC at 60°N: 71° high at 9 pm 50°N
JAN at 50°N: 67° high at 9 pm FEB at 50°N: 48° high at 9 pm MAR at 50°N: 31° high at 9 pm APR at 50°N: 16° high at 9 pm MAY at 50°N: 5° high at 9 pm JUN at 50°N: 1° high at 9 pm JUL at 50°N: 4° high at 9 pm AUG at 50°N: 14° high at 9 pm SEP at 50°N: 30° high at 9 pm OCT at 50°N: 47° high at 9 pm NOV at 50°N: 67° high at 9 pm DEC at 50°N: 81° high at 9 pm 40°N
JAN at 40°N: 67° high at 9 pm FEB at 40°N: 45° high at 9 pm MAR at 40°N: 26° high at 9 pm APR at 40°N: 8° high at 9 pm MAY at 40°N: -4° high at 9 pm JUN at 40°N: -9° high at 9 pm JUL at 40°N: -5° high at 9 pm AUG at 40°N: 7° high at 9 pm SEP at 40°N: 24° high at 9 pm OCT at 40°N: 44° high at 9 pm NOV at 40°N: 67° high at 9 pm DEC at 40°N: 89° high at 9 pm 30°N
JAN at 30°N: 64° high at 9 pm FEB at 30°N: 41° high at 9 pm MAR at 30°N: 21° high at 9 pm APR at 30°N: 1° high at 9 pm MAY at 30°N: -13° high at 9 pm JUN at 30°N: -19° high at 9 pm JUL at 30°N: -14° high at 9 pm AUG at 30°N: -1° high at 9 pm SEP at 30°N: 19° high at 9 pm OCT at 30°N: 40° high at 9 pm NOV at 30°N: 63° high at 9 pm DEC at 30°N: 79° high at 9 pm 20°N
JAN at 20°N: 57° high at 9 pm FEB at 20°N: 35° high at 9 pm MAR at 20°N: 14° high at 9 pm APR at 20°N: -7° high at 9 pm MAY at 20°N: -22° high at 9 pm JUN at 20°N: -29° high at 9 pm JUL at 20°N: -24° high at 9 pm AUG at 20°N: -8° high at 9 pm SEP at 20°N: 12° high at 9 pm OCT at 20°N: 35° high at 9 pm NOV at 20°N: 57° high at 9 pm DEC at 20°N: 69° high at 9 pm 10°N
JAN at 10°N: 49° high at 9 pm FEB at 10°N: 29° high at 9 pm MAR at 10°N: 8° high at 9 pm APR at 10°N: -14° high at 9 pm MAY at 10°N: -31° high at 9 pm JUN at 10°N: -39° high at 9 pm JUL at 10°N: -33° high at 9 pm AUG at 10°N: -16° high at 9 pm SEP at 10°N: 6° high at 9 pm OCT at 10°N: 28° high at 9 pm NOV at 10°N: 49° high at 9 pm DEC at 10°N: 59° high at 9 pm 0°
JAN at 0°: 41° high at 9 pm FEB at 0°: 22° high at 9 pm MAR at 0°: 2° high at 9 pm APR at 0°: -21° high at 9 pm MAY at 0°: -40° high at 9 pm JUN at 0°: -49° high at 9 pm JUL at 0°: -42° high at 9 pm AUG at 0°: -23° high at 9 pm SEP at 0°: -1° high at 9 pm OCT at 0°: 21° high at 9 pm NOV at 0°: 41° high at 9 pm DEC at 0°: 49° high at 9 pm 10°S
JAN at 10°S: 32° high at 9 pm FEB at 10°S: 15° high at 9 pm MAR at 10°S: -5° high at 9 pm APR at 10°S: -28° high at 9 pm MAY at 10°S: -48° high at 9 pm JUN at 10°S: -59° high at 9 pm JUL at 10°S: -50° high at 9 pm AUG at 10°S: -30° high at 9 pm SEP at 10°S: -7° high at 9 pm OCT at 10°S: 14° high at 9 pm NOV at 10°S: 32° high at 9 pm DEC at 10°S: 39° high at 9 pm 20°S
JAN at 20°S: 23° high at 9 pm FEB at 20°S: 7° high at 9 pm MAR at 20°S: -11° high at 9 pm APR at 20°S: -34° high at 9 pm MAY at 20°S: -56° high at 9 pm JUN at 20°S: -69° high at 9 pm JUL at 20°S: -58° high at 9 pm AUG at 20°S: -36° high at 9 pm SEP at 20°S: -13° high at 9 pm OCT at 20°S: 7° high at 9 pm NOV at 20°S: 23° high at 9 pm DEC at 20°S: 29° high at 9 pm 30°S
JAN at 30°S: 14° high at 9 pm FEB at 30°S: -0° high at 9 pm MAR at 30°S: -18° high at 9 pm APR at 30°S: -40° high at 9 pm MAY at 30°S: -62° high at 9 pm JUN at 30°S: -79° high at 9 pm JUL at 30°S: -65° high at 9 pm AUG at 30°S: -42° high at 9 pm SEP at 30°S: -20° high at 9 pm OCT at 30°S: -1° high at 9 pm NOV at 30°S: 14° high at 9 pm DEC at 30°S: 19° high at 9 pm 40°S
JAN at 40°S: 5° high at 9 pm FEB at 40°S: -8° high at 9 pm MAR at 40°S: -24° high at 9 pm APR at 40°S: -44° high at 9 pm MAY at 40°S: -66° high at 9 pm JUN at 40°S: -89° high at 9 pm JUL at 40°S: -69° high at 9 pm AUG at 40°S: -46° high at 9 pm SEP at 40°S: -25° high at 9 pm OCT at 40°S: -8° high at 9 pm NOV at 40°S: 4° high at 9 pm DEC at 40°S: 9° high at 9 pm
below horizon
low
20-40°
40-60°
overhead-ish
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 northern hemisphere and south to about 49°S, and never sets north of 49°N.
NGC 1003 is 35 million light-years away
The light seen from NGC 1003 tonight left it about 35 million years ago, long before modern humans existed. Distance source: Cosmicflows-4 (Tully et al. 2023).
Objects within 6° of NGC 1003
77 NGC and IC objects lie within 6°. The nearest that are brighter than magnitude 12.5 or have their own page:
NGC 1023, lenticular galaxy, 1.8° M34 Messier 34, open cluster, 1.9° IC 239, mixed spiral galaxy, 2.0° NGC 910, elliptical galaxy, 2.8° NGC 1122, mixed spiral galaxy, 2.9° NGC 891, spiral galaxy, 3.5° NGC 1058, late spiral galaxy, 3.6° NGC 956, open cluster, 3.9°
NGC 1003 catalog data
Field Value
Constellation Perseus Designations NGC 1003, 2MASX J02391689+4052202, IRAS 02360+4039, MCG +07-06-051, PGC 010052, UGC 02137 Type late spiral galaxy (Sc) Right ascension (J2000) 02h 39.3m Declination (J2000) +40° 52′ Magnitude 11.5 (B 12.0) Surface brightness 22.3 mag/arcmin² Apparent size 3.5′ × 50″ Position angle 96° True size 35,100 light-years Distance 35 million light-years (Cosmicflows-4 (Tully et al. 2023)) Radial velocity 626 km/s, redshift 0.00209 Best with Telescope Best month December Catalog page NGC 1001 to 1500
