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A large spiral galaxy fills the frame. A bright core of stars, just left of center. Dust-filled spiral arms wrap around toward the top, right, and bottom of the image.
Hubble · Caldwell 101 · NASA, ESA, and the LEGUS team

Caldwell 101

Galaxy in Pavo · 30 million light-years

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TypeGalaxy
ConstellationPavo
Right ascension19h 09m 46s
Declination−63° 51′
Object distance30 million light-years
Apparent magnitude9.3
Apparent size15.7′ (arc-minutes)
Approx. true diameter137,008 light-years across
Also known asC101 · NGC 6744
Caldwell 101 is a galaxy (NGC 6744) in the constellation Pavo — a distant island of stars far beyond the Milky Way. It appears as number 101 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It spans roughly 15.7 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 9.3, it shows up in a small backyard telescope.

Although it appears about 15.7′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 137,008 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.

Observing Caldwell 101

Caldwell 101 lies in the constellation Pavo and is best placed in the evening sky around July. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. It sits far enough south to be circumpolar from mid-southern latitudes, and never rises for most of the northern hemisphere. A small backyard telescope will show it; binoculars may hint at it under dark skies. Note that the listed magnitude is spread across the whole object — diffuse galaxies and nebulae are often harder to see than the number alone suggests, so dark, moonless skies help a great deal.

See Caldwell 101 in Universe Finder

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Sources

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