NGC 6822
| NGC 6822 | |
|---|---|
NGC 6822 from ESO's Wide Field Imager at La Silla Observatory | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Sagittarius |
| Right ascension | 19h 44m 57.70s |
| Declination | −14° 48′ 12.0″ |
| Redshift | −57 ± 2 km/s (−35.4 ± 1.2 mi/s) |
| Distance | 1.63 ± 0.03 Mly (500 ± 10 kpc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 9.3 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | IB(s)m |
| Size | ~9,200 ly (2.82 kpc) (estimated) |
| Apparent size (V) | 15.5′ × 13.5′ |
| Other designations | |
| Barnard's Galaxy, DDO 209, Caldwell 57, IRAS 19420-1450, IC 4895, MCG -02-50-006, PGC 63616 | |
NGC 6822 (also known as Barnard's Galaxy, IC 4895, or Caldwell 57) is a barred irregular galaxy approximately 1.6 million light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. Part of the Local Group of galaxies, it was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1884, with a six-inch refractor telescope. It is the closest non-satellite galaxy to the Milky Way, but lies just outside its virial radius. It is similar in structure and composition to the Small Magellanic Cloud. It is about 7,000 light-years in diameter.