NGC 668 is a spiral galaxy in Andromeda, 184 million light-years away
NGC 668 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Andromeda , 184 million light-years away. It shines at magnitude 13.0 and spans 1.2′ × 49″ of sky, about 64,100 light-years across. It is faint: a 10-inch or larger telescope, or a camera, 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 668 from Almach
Almach
NGC 668
ANDROMEDA
NGC 668 lies 6.8° southwest of Almach , the magnitude 2.1 star. Three fingers held at arm's length cover about 5°.
NGC 668 is highest in the evening in December
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60°N
JAN at 60°N: 54° high at 9 pm FEB at 60°N: 39° high at 9 pm MAR at 60°N: 26° high at 9 pm APR at 60°N: 14° high at 9 pm MAY at 60°N: 8° high at 9 pm JUN at 60°N: 7° high at 9 pm JUL at 60°N: 12° high at 9 pm AUG at 60°N: 23° high at 9 pm SEP at 60°N: 37° high at 9 pm OCT at 60°N: 52° high at 9 pm NOV at 60°N: 64° high at 9 pm DEC at 60°N: 65° high at 9 pm 50°N
JAN at 50°N: 56° high at 9 pm FEB at 50°N: 37° high at 9 pm MAR at 50°N: 21° high at 9 pm APR at 50°N: 6° high at 9 pm MAY at 50°N: -2° high at 9 pm JUN at 50°N: -3° high at 9 pm JUL at 50°N: 4° high at 9 pm AUG at 50°N: 17° high at 9 pm SEP at 50°N: 35° high at 9 pm OCT at 50°N: 53° high at 9 pm NOV at 50°N: 72° high at 9 pm DEC at 50°N: 74° high at 9 pm 40°N
JAN at 40°N: 56° high at 9 pm FEB at 40°N: 34° high at 9 pm MAR at 40°N: 15° high at 9 pm APR at 40°N: -2° high at 9 pm MAY at 40°N: -12° high at 9 pm JUN at 40°N: -13° high at 9 pm JUL at 40°N: -5° high at 9 pm AUG at 40°N: 11° high at 9 pm SEP at 40°N: 31° high at 9 pm OCT at 40°N: 53° high at 9 pm NOV at 40°N: 76° high at 9 pm DEC at 40°N: 80° high at 9 pm 30°N
JAN at 30°N: 54° high at 9 pm FEB at 30°N: 30° high at 9 pm MAR at 30°N: 9° high at 9 pm APR at 30°N: -10° high at 9 pm MAY at 30°N: -21° high at 9 pm JUN at 30°N: -23° high at 9 pm JUL at 30°N: -13° high at 9 pm AUG at 30°N: 5° high at 9 pm SEP at 30°N: 27° high at 9 pm OCT at 30°N: 50° high at 9 pm NOV at 30°N: 74° high at 9 pm DEC at 30°N: 78° high at 9 pm 20°N
JAN at 20°N: 49° high at 9 pm FEB at 20°N: 25° high at 9 pm MAR at 20°N: 3° high at 9 pm APR at 20°N: -17° high at 9 pm MAY at 20°N: -31° high at 9 pm JUN at 20°N: -32° high at 9 pm JUL at 20°N: -21° high at 9 pm AUG at 20°N: -2° high at 9 pm SEP at 20°N: 22° high at 9 pm OCT at 20°N: 45° high at 9 pm NOV at 20°N: 68° high at 9 pm DEC at 20°N: 70° high at 9 pm 10°N
JAN at 10°N: 43° high at 9 pm FEB at 10°N: 19° high at 9 pm MAR at 10°N: -3° high at 9 pm APR at 10°N: -25° high at 9 pm MAY at 10°N: -40° high at 9 pm JUN at 10°N: -42° high at 9 pm JUL at 10°N: -29° high at 9 pm AUG at 10°N: -8° high at 9 pm SEP at 10°N: 16° high at 9 pm OCT at 10°N: 39° high at 9 pm NOV at 10°N: 59° high at 9 pm DEC at 10°N: 61° high at 9 pm 0°
JAN at 0°: 36° high at 9 pm FEB at 0°: 13° high at 9 pm MAR at 0°: -9° high at 9 pm APR at 0°: -32° high at 9 pm MAY at 0°: -50° high at 9 pm JUN at 0°: -52° high at 9 pm JUL at 0°: -37° high at 9 pm AUG at 0°: -14° high at 9 pm SEP at 0°: 10° high at 9 pm OCT at 0°: 33° high at 9 pm NOV at 0°: 50° high at 9 pm DEC at 0°: 52° high at 9 pm 10°S
JAN at 10°S: 28° high at 9 pm FEB at 10°S: 7° high at 9 pm MAR at 10°S: -15° high at 9 pm APR at 10°S: -39° high at 9 pm MAY at 10°S: -59° high at 9 pm JUN at 10°S: -61° high at 9 pm JUL at 10°S: -44° high at 9 pm AUG at 10°S: -20° high at 9 pm SEP at 10°S: 4° high at 9 pm OCT at 10°S: 25° high at 9 pm NOV at 10°S: 41° high at 9 pm DEC at 10°S: 42° high at 9 pm 20°S
JAN at 20°S: 20° high at 9 pm FEB at 20°S: 1° high at 9 pm MAR at 20°S: -20° high at 9 pm APR at 20°S: -45° high at 9 pm MAY at 20°S: -67° high at 9 pm JUN at 20°S: -71° high at 9 pm JUL at 20°S: -50° high at 9 pm AUG at 20°S: -26° high at 9 pm SEP at 20°S: -2° high at 9 pm OCT at 20°S: 18° high at 9 pm NOV at 20°S: 31° high at 9 pm DEC at 20°S: 32° high at 9 pm 30°S
JAN at 30°S: 12° high at 9 pm FEB at 30°S: -6° high at 9 pm MAR at 30°S: -26° high at 9 pm APR at 30°S: -49° high at 9 pm MAY at 30°S: -73° high at 9 pm JUN at 30°S: -78° high at 9 pm JUL at 30°S: -55° high at 9 pm AUG at 30°S: -31° high at 9 pm SEP at 30°S: -8° high at 9 pm OCT at 30°S: 10° high at 9 pm NOV at 30°S: 22° high at 9 pm DEC at 30°S: 23° high at 9 pm 40°S
JAN at 40°S: 4° high at 9 pm FEB at 40°S: -12° high at 9 pm MAR at 40°S: -30° high at 9 pm APR at 40°S: -52° high at 9 pm MAY at 40°S: -75° high at 9 pm JUN at 40°S: -80° high at 9 pm JUL at 40°S: -58° high at 9 pm AUG at 40°S: -35° high at 9 pm SEP at 40°S: -14° high at 9 pm OCT at 40°S: 2° high at 9 pm NOV at 40°S: 12° high at 9 pm DEC at 40°S: 13° 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 54°S, and never sets north of 54°N.
NGC 668 is 184 million light-years away
The light seen from NGC 668 tonight left it about 184 million years ago, long before modern humans existed. Distance source: Cosmicflows-4 (Tully et al. 2023).
Objects within 6° of NGC 668
119 NGC and IC objects lie within 6°. The nearest that are brighter than magnitude 12.5 or have their own page:
NGC 687, lenticular galaxy, 51′ NGC 669, early spiral galaxy, 55′ NGC 679, lenticular galaxy, 57′ NGC 634, early spiral galaxy, 2.0° NGC 753, mixed spiral galaxy, 2.3° NGC 752, open cluster, 2.6° IC 179, elliptical galaxy, 3.2° NGC 797 NED02, mixed spiral galaxy, 3.8°
NGC 668 catalog data
Field Value
Constellation Andromeda Designations NGC 668, 2MASX J01462268+3627369, IRAS 01434+3612, MCG +06-05-003, PGC 006502, UGC 01238 Type spiral galaxy (Sb) Right ascension (J2000) 01h 46.4m Declination (J2000) +36° 28′ Magnitude 13.0 Surface brightness 22.6 mag/arcmin² Apparent size 1.2′ × 49″ Position angle 32° True size 64,100 light-years Distance 184 million light-years (Cosmicflows-4 (Tully et al. 2023)) Radial velocity 4,464 km/s, redshift 0.015 Best with Large telescope Best month December Catalog page NGC 501 to 1000
