RA 185.0284° · Dec 29.2807° · openngc
10 more points to reach Rare.
NGC 4278 is an uncommon galaxy. It lies about 31,428,999.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Com and shines at apparent magnitude 10.21.
A galaxy: a gravitationally bound city of stars, gas and dark matter, turning so slowly that a single rotation takes hundreds of millions of years.
Look for NGC 4278 in the constellation Com. At apparent magnitude 10.21, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 4278 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.
NGC 4278 scores 24 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 10 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Galaxy, Outside our galaxy entirely and Elliptical galaxy — 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.