NGC 636 is an elliptical galaxy in Cetus, 96 million light-years away
NGC 636 is an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Cetus , 96 million light-years away. It shines at magnitude 11.4 and spans 2.7′ × 2.3′ of sky, about 75,000 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 636 from θ Cet
θ Cet
NGC 636
CETUS
NGC 636 lies 3.8° east of θ Cet , the magnitude 3.6 star. Three fingers held at arm's length cover about 5°.
NGC 636 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: 14° high at 9 pm FEB at 60°N: 1° high at 9 pm MAR at 60°N: -13° high at 9 pm APR at 60°N: -27° high at 9 pm MAY at 60°N: -36° high at 9 pm JUN at 60°N: -37° high at 9 pm JUL at 60°N: -28° high at 9 pm AUG at 60°N: -15° high at 9 pm SEP at 60°N: 1° high at 9 pm OCT at 60°N: 13° high at 9 pm NOV at 60°N: 21° high at 9 pm DEC at 60°N: 22° high at 9 pm 50°N
JAN at 50°N: 21° high at 9 pm FEB at 50°N: 3° high at 9 pm MAR at 50°N: -14° high at 9 pm APR at 50°N: -33° high at 9 pm MAY at 50°N: -45° high at 9 pm JUN at 50°N: -46° high at 9 pm JUL at 50°N: -34° high at 9 pm AUG at 50°N: -16° high at 9 pm SEP at 50°N: 3° high at 9 pm OCT at 50°N: 20° high at 9 pm NOV at 50°N: 31° high at 9 pm DEC at 50°N: 31° high at 9 pm 40°N
JAN at 40°N: 27° high at 9 pm FEB at 40°N: 6° high at 9 pm MAR at 40°N: -15° high at 9 pm APR at 40°N: -37° high at 9 pm MAY at 40°N: -54° high at 9 pm JUN at 40°N: -55° high at 9 pm JUL at 40°N: -40° high at 9 pm AUG at 40°N: -17° high at 9 pm SEP at 40°N: 6° high at 9 pm OCT at 40°N: 26° high at 9 pm NOV at 40°N: 40° high at 9 pm DEC at 40°N: 41° high at 9 pm 30°N
JAN at 30°N: 33° high at 9 pm FEB at 30°N: 9° high at 9 pm MAR at 30°N: -15° high at 9 pm APR at 30°N: -41° high at 9 pm MAY at 30°N: -62° high at 9 pm JUN at 30°N: -64° high at 9 pm JUL at 30°N: -44° high at 9 pm AUG at 30°N: -18° high at 9 pm SEP at 30°N: 8° high at 9 pm OCT at 30°N: 32° high at 9 pm NOV at 30°N: 50° high at 9 pm DEC at 30°N: 50° high at 9 pm 20°N
JAN at 20°N: 38° high at 9 pm FEB at 20°N: 11° high at 9 pm MAR at 20°N: -15° high at 9 pm APR at 20°N: -43° high at 9 pm MAY at 20°N: -69° high at 9 pm JUN at 20°N: -72° high at 9 pm JUL at 20°N: -46° high at 9 pm AUG at 20°N: -18° high at 9 pm SEP at 20°N: 11° high at 9 pm OCT at 20°N: 37° high at 9 pm NOV at 20°N: 59° high at 9 pm DEC at 20°N: 59° high at 9 pm 10°N
JAN at 10°N: 42° high at 9 pm FEB at 10°N: 13° high at 9 pm MAR at 10°N: -14° high at 9 pm APR at 10°N: -44° high at 9 pm MAY at 10°N: -73° high at 9 pm JUN at 10°N: -76° high at 9 pm JUL at 10°N: -47° high at 9 pm AUG at 10°N: -17° high at 9 pm SEP at 10°N: 13° high at 9 pm OCT at 10°N: 41° high at 9 pm NOV at 10°N: 67° high at 9 pm DEC at 10°N: 68° high at 9 pm 0°
JAN at 0°: 45° high at 9 pm FEB at 0°: 15° high at 9 pm MAR at 0°: -13° high at 9 pm APR at 0°: -43° high at 9 pm MAY at 0°: -72° high at 9 pm JUN at 0°: -74° high at 9 pm JUL at 0°: -46° high at 9 pm AUG at 0°: -16° high at 9 pm SEP at 0°: 14° high at 9 pm OCT at 0°: 43° high at 9 pm NOV at 0°: 73° high at 9 pm DEC at 0°: 74° high at 9 pm 10°S
JAN at 10°S: 46° high at 9 pm FEB at 10°S: 16° high at 9 pm MAR at 10°S: -11° high at 9 pm APR at 10°S: -40° high at 9 pm MAY at 10°S: -66° high at 9 pm JUN at 10°S: -68° high at 9 pm JUL at 10°S: -44° high at 9 pm AUG at 10°S: -15° high at 9 pm SEP at 10°S: 15° high at 9 pm OCT at 10°S: 44° high at 9 pm NOV at 10°S: 74° high at 9 pm DEC at 10°S: 76° high at 9 pm 20°S
JAN at 20°S: 45° high at 9 pm FEB at 20°S: 16° high at 9 pm MAR at 20°S: -9° high at 9 pm APR at 20°S: -37° high at 9 pm MAY at 20°S: -58° high at 9 pm JUN at 20°S: -59° high at 9 pm JUL at 20°S: -39° high at 9 pm AUG at 20°S: -12° high at 9 pm SEP at 20°S: 16° high at 9 pm OCT at 20°S: 44° high at 9 pm NOV at 20°S: 70° high at 9 pm DEC at 20°S: 72° high at 9 pm 30°S
JAN at 30°S: 42° high at 9 pm FEB at 30°S: 16° high at 9 pm MAR at 30°S: -7° high at 9 pm APR at 30°S: -32° high at 9 pm MAY at 30°S: -49° high at 9 pm JUN at 30°S: -50° high at 9 pm JUL at 30°S: -34° high at 9 pm AUG at 30°S: -10° high at 9 pm SEP at 30°S: 16° high at 9 pm OCT at 30°S: 41° high at 9 pm NOV at 30°S: 63° high at 9 pm DEC at 30°S: 64° high at 9 pm 40°S
JAN at 40°S: 39° high at 9 pm FEB at 40°S: 16° high at 9 pm MAR at 40°S: -5° high at 9 pm APR at 40°S: -26° high at 9 pm MAY at 40°S: -40° high at 9 pm JUN at 40°S: -41° high at 9 pm JUL at 40°S: -28° high at 9 pm AUG at 40°S: -7° high at 9 pm SEP at 40°S: 16° high at 9 pm OCT at 40°S: 38° high at 9 pm NOV at 40°S: 55° high at 9 pm DEC at 40°S: 55° 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 southern hemisphere and north to about 82°N.
NGC 636 is 96 million light-years away
The light seen from NGC 636 tonight left it about 96 million years ago, long before modern humans existed. Distance source: Cosmicflows-4 (Tully et al. 2023).
Objects within 6° of NGC 636
60 NGC and IC objects lie within 6°. The nearest that are brighter than magnitude 12.5 or have their own page:
NGC 615, spiral galaxy, 1.0° NGC 600, late spiral galaxy, 1.5° NGC 596, elliptical galaxy, 1.6° NGC 584, elliptical galaxy, 2.0° IC 127, spiral galaxy, 2.4° NGC 701, barred spiral galaxy, 3.7° NGC 681, mixed spiral galaxy, 3.8° NGC 731, elliptical galaxy, 4.2°
NGC 636 catalog data
Field Value
Constellation Cetus Designations NGC 636, 2MASX J01390652-0730453, MCG -01-05-013, PGC 006110 Type elliptical galaxy (E) Right ascension (J2000) 01h 39.1m Declination (J2000) -07° 31′ Magnitude 11.4 (B 12.0) Surface brightness 23.3 mag/arcmin² Apparent size 2.7′ × 2.3′ Position angle 6° True size 75,000 light-years Distance 96 million light-years (Cosmicflows-4 (Tully et al. 2023)) Radial velocity 1,847 km/s, redshift 0.00618 Best with Telescope Best month December Catalog page NGC 501 to 1000
