About NGC 3556
NGC 3556 is an uncommon galaxy. It sits in the constellation UMa and shines at apparent magnitude 10.05.
Home to hundreds of billions of stars — a universe unto itself.
Uncommon galaxy 32 EP
NGC 3556
RA 167.8790° · Dec 55.6741° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 2 badgesUncommon 33 pts → Rare
- Galaxy +20
- Messier object +12
Total score 32
1 more point to reach Rare.
Badges
- Galaxy · +20
- Messier object · +12
Trivia
Cosmic context
- Scale. Home to hundreds of billions of stars — a universe unto itself.
Properties
- constellation
- UMa
- dso type
- G
- hubble
- Sc
- mag
- 10.05
- messier
- yes
- messier number
- 108
- name
- NGC 3556
How to see it
Look for NGC 3556 in the constellation UMa. At apparent magnitude 10.05, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 3556 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 NGC 3556 is an uncommon galaxy
NGC 3556 scores 32 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 2 science badges — Galaxy and Messier object — 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.