When is the best time to observe IC 2122?

IC 2122 is best observed from November through January, with peak visibility during December when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is IC 2122 located in the sky?

IC 2122 lies in the constellation Columba at right ascension 05h 19m and declination -37° 05′.

What telescope do I need to see IC 2122?

At magnitude 13.1, IC 2122 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

IC 2122 — Galaxy in Columba

Galaxy Fair (21/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 13.1^m Galaxy Columba (Col) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 13.08

Angular Size 1.8′ × 1.5′

Position Angle 66°

Distance 217.17 million ly

Galaxy Type Elliptical (E-S0)

Description

pB, eS, R, 3 st nf

Position & Identifiers

RA 05h 18m 60.0s

Dec -37° 04' 60.0"

Constellation Columba (Col)

Catalog IC 2122

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 Nov – Jan (peak: Dec)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

IC 2122 · 1.8′×1.5′ · 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

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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 1808

Medium+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 9.9 2.3° Columba

C73

NGC 1851

Easy

Globular cluster — dense ball of ancient stars

Globular Cluster mag 7.3 3.1° Columba

Gamma Cae

Medium

Easy double, sep 3.2″

Double Star mag 4.55 3.3° Caelum

NGC 1800

Hard

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.6 5.8° Columba

NGC 2090

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 6.4° Columba

NGC 1930

Hard+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.37 9.7° Pictor

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