Caldwell 38
C38
📋 A written introduction is coming — for now this page shows official values only.
Object
- Type (NASA)
- Spiral Galaxy
- Distance from Earth
- 40,000,000 light-years
- Apparent magnitude
- 9.6 mag
- NASA description
- Also called "The Needle" galaxy, or NGC 4565, Caldwell 38 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1785.
Source:NASA Hubble (Messier/Caldwell catalogs) · checked 2026-11-02 ↗
Related
Constellation
In everyday life
- Light from this object takes about 40,000,000 years to reach Earth — the light you see tonight left 40,000,000 years ago (official distance ÷ speed of light).
- At magnitude 9.6 it is fainter than the naked-eye limit (about 6) — you need binoculars or a telescope.
- It lies in Coma Berenices — find the constellation first to know where to look.
Worked out from this object's official values.