NGC 3278 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Antlia. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 3,268±43 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 157.2 ± 11.3 Mly (48.20 ± 3.47 Mpc). However, four non-redshift measurements give a closer mean distance of 129.40 ± 1.29 Mly (39.675 ± 0.394 Mpc). It was discovered by British astronomer John Herschel on 2 March 1835.
NGC 3278 has a possible active galactic nucleus, i.e. it has a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars.
