When is the best time to observe IC 1608?

IC 1608 is best observed from August through October, with peak visibility during September when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is IC 1608 located in the sky?

IC 1608 lies in the constellation Sculptor at right ascension 00h 59m and declination -34° 20′.

What telescope do I need to see IC 1608?

At magnitude 12.9, IC 1608 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

IC 1608 — Galaxy in Sculptor

Galaxy Fair (29/100)

Lenticular

Magnitude 12.9^m Galaxy Sculptor (Scl) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 12.86

Angular Size 2.0′ × 0.7′

Position Angle 171°

Distance 164.83 million ly

Galaxy Type Lenticular (S0-a)

Description

pB, pS, R; 2 st nf, 2 np

Position & Identifiers

RA 00h 59m 24.0s

Dec -34° 19' 60.0"

Constellation Sculptor (Scl)

Catalog IC 1608

2How easy to spot?

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Telescope	Bortle 3	Bortle 4	Bortle 5
80 mm refractor 80mm refr.	Hard	V. hard+	V. hard+
150 mm Newton 150mm Newt.	Hard+	Hard	Hard
Celestron C8 (203 mm SCT) C8 203mm	Medium	Hard+	Hard+

Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs

Medium on Seestar S50

3Visibility

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Best season Aug – Oct (peak: Sep)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

IC 1608 · 2.0′×0.7′ · N up, E left

5 Best Magnification

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6 Surface Brightness

7 Morphology Decoder

8 Inclination & True Shape

9 Redshift

10 Size Comparator

Discover

11

Light Travel Time Machine

12

Relativistic Travel

Nearby in the Sky

Other targets within a few degrees — pan your scope a little and keep exploring.

Visibility scores assume a 150 mm Newton at Bortle 4.

NGC 289

Hard+

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 3.4° Sculptor

Galaxy mag 8.7 3.5° Sculptor

NGC 254

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.8 3.8° Sculptor

NGC 439

Hard

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 13.0 4.0° Sculptor

R Scl

Easy

Mira-type variable, range 5.5–8.0

Variable Star mag 5.79 6.0° Sculptor

NGC 288

Easy

Globular cluster — dense ball of ancient stars

Globular Cluster mag 8.1 7.9° Sculptor

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