When is the best time to observe IC 2158?

IC 2158 is best observed from November through January, with peak visibility during December when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is IC 2158 located in the sky?

IC 2158 lies in the constellation Columba at right ascension 06h 05m and declination -27° 51′.

What telescope do I need to see IC 2158?

At magnitude 12.1, IC 2158 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

IC 2158 — Galaxy in Columba

Galaxy Fair (39/100)

Barred Spiral

Magnitude 12.1^m Galaxy Columba (Col) Visible

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Observe

1Properties

Magnitude 12.06

Angular Size 1.4′ × 1.1′

Position Angle 115°

Distance 75.21 million ly

Galaxy Type Barred Spiral (SBab)

Description

vF, pS, lE, brush, * att nf

Position & Identifiers

RA 06h 05m 18.0s

Dec -27° 51' 00.0"

Constellation Columba (Col)

Catalog IC 2158

2How easy to spot?

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

Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

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

Medium on Seestar S50

3Visibility

Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.

Best season Nov – Jan (peak: Dec)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

IC 2158 · 1.4′×1.1′ · N up, E left

5 Best Magnification

Explore

6 Surface Brightness

7 Morphology Decoder

8 Inclination & True Shape

9 Redshift

10 Size Comparator

Discover

Light Travel Time Machine

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.

S Lep

Easy

Semi-regular variable, range 6.0–7.6

Variable Star mag 6.95 3.7° Lepus

NGC 2217

Easy

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 10.4 3.7° Canis Major

IC 2152

Hard

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.64 5.0° Lepus

NGC 2179

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.5 6.1° Lepus

NGC 2243

Easy

Open cluster

Open Cluster mag 9.4 6.3° Canis Major

HIP 30840

Hard+

Tight double — a rewarding split at 1.2″

Double Star mag 5.74 6.8° Canis Major

NGC 2073

Hard+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 13.0 7.3° Lepus

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