Estimates made using the Tully–Fisher method put the galaxy at about 59 million light years (18 megaparsecs).

[2] It was discovered on 22 November 1786 by William Herschel, and was described as "pretty bright, small, round, stellar" by John Louis Emil Dreyer, the compiler of the New General Catalogue.

[4] NGC 1140 is a starburst galaxy, meaning it is forming stars at a very fast rate.

The image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope shows bright blue and red regions of star formation, similar to NGC 1569.

[5] Its low metallicity (the ratio of hydrogen and helium to other elements) makes NGC 1140 similar to primordial galaxies.