---
title: "IC 3898"
url: "https://spacecatalog.org/object/ic-3898"
release: "DR1"
licence: "CC-BY-SA-4.0"
citation: "SpaceCatalog. IC 3898 [catalogue entry]. Data release DR1 (2026-08-21). https://spacecatalog.org/object/ic-3898"
---

# IC 3898

IC 3898 is a spiral [galaxy](https://spacecatalog.org/galaxies) Sc in the constellation [Canes Venatici](https://spacecatalog.org/constellation/canes-venatici), 1.397 Gly from Earth, shining at apparent magnitude 17.23 (B). Other catalogues list it as 2MASX J12552386+3734583, LEDA 3088328 and SDSS J125523.83+373458.3, among 5 designations in total.

## At a glance

- **WHAT IT IS:** Spiral galaxy
- **HOW FAR:** 1.397 Gly — A luminosity distance, from its redshift — how faint it looks. The light itself left 1.21 billion years ago.
- **HOW BIG ON THE SKY:** 19″ — Small enough that the full Moon would cover it several times over.
- **HOW BRIGHT (B):** 17.23 — Faint: it takes a large telescope.
- **WHERE TO LOOK:** [Canes Venatici](https://spacecatalog.org/constellation/canes-venatici) — The patch of sky it sits in, as seen from Earth.

## Properties

| Quantity | Value |
| --- | --- |
| CLASS | Spiral galaxy Sc |
| DISTANCE FROM EARTH | 1.397 Gly ±0.058 — by redshift (CMB frame), flat ΛCDM with H0 = 70 km/s/Mpc |
| APPARENT MAGNITUDE (B) | 17.23 |
| CONSTELLATION | Canes Venatici |
| RIGHT ASCENSION (J2000) | 12h 55m 23.8s |
| DECLINATION (J2000) | +37° 34′ 58.4″ |

## Catalogue data

### WHAT KIND OF THING IT IS

What the object is in itself, rather than how it happens to look from here.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Hubble type | Sc |

### HOW BRIGHT IT IS

What the light adds up to, measured through one filter at a time. A magnitude is a brightness on a backwards scale — the smaller the number, the brighter the object.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 17.23 |
| Apparent magnitude (J) | 14.50 |
| Apparent magnitude (H band) | 13.69 |
| Apparent magnitude (K) | 13.17 |
| Surface brightness | 23.28 mag/arcsec² |

### WHERE IT IS AND HOW IT MOVES

Position, motion across the sky and the size it covers on it. These are measurements of the object as seen from here, so every one of them depends on where here is.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Radial velocity | 26 508 km/s |
| Redshift (z) | 0.0927 |
| Redshift (z, CMB frame) | 0.0935544 |
| Major axis | 0.31′ |
| Minor axis | 0.25′ |
| Position angle | 166° |

### OTHER NAMES AND NUMBERS

The identifiers other catalogues file this object under, for anyone joining this data to theirs.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| OpenNGC type code | G |
| Wikidata item | Q3684813 |

## Also known as

- 2MASX: 2MASX J12552386+3734583
- IC: IC 3898
- LEDA: LEDA 3088328
- SDSS: SDSS J125523.83+373458.3
- SDSS: SDSS J125523.84+373458.4

## Source

[OpenNGC](https://github.com/mattiaverga/OpenNGC) — CC-BY-SA-4.0

The producer asks: OpenNGC, Mattia Verga (github.com/mattiaverga/OpenNGC). Fields derived from it stay under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How this was made: https://spacecatalog.org/methods#source-openngc

## Cite this page

SpaceCatalog. IC 3898 \[catalogue entry\]. Data release DR1 (2026-08-21). https://spacecatalog.org/object/ic-3898

```bibtex
@misc{spacecatalog_ic-3898,
  author       = {{SpaceCatalog}},
  title        = {{IC 3898}},
  howpublished = {SpaceCatalog, data release DR1 (2026-08-21)},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://spacecatalog.org/object/ic-3898},
  note         = {Catalogue entry, data release DR1 (2026-08-21). Values from OpenNGC.}
}
```

OpenNGC — CC-BY-SA-4.0

Acknowledgement the producer asks for: OpenNGC, Mattia Verga (github.com/mattiaverga/OpenNGC). Fields derived from it stay under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The page itself, with its pictures, the sky map and the observing tools: https://spacecatalog.org/object/ic-3898