NGC 3271
Encyclopedia
NGC 3271 is a spiral galaxy
in the constellation
Antlia
. At magnitude
11.7, it is the brightest spiral galaxy in the Antlia Cluster
, which lies about 98 million light years away.
Spiral galaxy
A spiral galaxy is a certain kind of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work The Realm of the Nebulae and, as such, forms part of the Hubble sequence. Spiral galaxies consist of a flat, rotating disk containing stars, gas and dust, and a central concentration of stars known as...
in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Antlia
Antlia
Antlia is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name means "pump" and it specifically represents an air pump. The stars comprising Antlia are faint, and the constellation was not created until the 18th century...
. At magnitude
Magnitude
Magnitude Is A Part Of An EarthquakesMagnitude may refer to:In mathematics:*Magnitude , the relative size of a mathematical object*Magnitude , a term for the size or length of a vector...
11.7, it is the brightest spiral galaxy in the Antlia Cluster
Antlia Cluster
The Antlia Cluster is a cluster of galaxies located in the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster. The Antlia Cluster is the third nearest to our Local Group after the Virgo Cluster and Fornax Cluster. The cluster's distance from earth is 32.58 - 32.71 Mly away and can be viewed from earth in the...
, which lies about 98 million light years away.