About IC 3055
IC 3055 is a rare galaxy. It sits in the constellation Vir.
A triple galaxy system — three island universes tangled together, on a course that ends with them merging into one.
Rare galaxy 39 EP
IC 3055
RA 183.5929° · Dec 12.0914° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 3 badgesRare 50 pts → Epic
- Galaxy triplet +22
- Galaxy +14
- On the zodiac +3
Total score 39
11 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Galaxy · +14
- Galaxy triplet · +22
- On the zodiac · +3
Trivia
What it actually is
- What it actually is. A triple galaxy system — three island universes tangled together, on a course that ends with them merging into one.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. Galaxies pass through each other almost without collisions — the stars are so far apart that they simply miss.
- Scale. Home to hundreds of billions of stars — a universe unto itself, and every one of those points of light could have planets.
Find it in the sky
- Where to look. You'll find it in the constellation Virgo.
- Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north you are.
- Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around March — that's when to go looking.
How we came to know it
- The Index Catalogue. The IC was the 1895 and 1908 supplement to the NGC — the first catalogue in history to be filled largely with objects found on photographic plates rather than by eye.
Properties
- constellation
- Vir
- dso type
- GTrpl
- name
- IC 3055
- size arcmin
- 0.5
Nearby objects
- Common IC 3055 NED02 galaxy · <0.1° away
- Uncommon IC 3055 NED03 galaxy · <0.1° away
- Rare IC 3055 NED01 galaxy · <0.1° away
- Trash HD 106349 star · <0.1° away
- Uncommon NGC 4200 galaxy · 0.1° away
- Uncommon IC 3063 galaxy · 0.2° away
- Uncommon HD 106400 variable star · 0.3° away
- Uncommon IC 769 galaxy · 0.4° away
How to see it
Look for IC 3055 in the constellation Vir.
Like any astronomical target, IC 3055 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why IC 3055 is a rare galaxy
IC 3055 scores 39 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 11 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Galaxy, Galaxy triplet and On the zodiac — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.