When is the best time to observe IC 2587?

IC 2587 is best observed from January through March, with peak visibility during February when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is IC 2587 located in the sky?

IC 2587 lies in the constellation Antlia at right ascension 10h 31m and declination -34° 34′.

What telescope do I need to see IC 2587?

At magnitude 12.3, IC 2587 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

IC 2587 — Galaxy in Antlia

Galaxy Fair (25/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 12.3^m Galaxy Antlia (Ant) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 12.35

Angular Size 2.0′ × 1.5′

Position Angle 36°

Distance 98.72 million ly

Galaxy Type Elliptical (E-S0)

Description

cB, bM

Position & Identifiers

RA 10h 31m 00.0s

Dec -34° 34' 00.0"

Constellation Antlia (Ant)

Catalog IC 2587

2How easy to spot?

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

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 Jan – Mar (peak: Feb)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

IC 2587 · 2.0′×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

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 3281

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.7 0.3° Antlia

IC 2584

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.67 0.4° Antlia

NGC 3268

Medium

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.8 0.8° Antlia

NGC 3271

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.7 0.8° Antlia

AG Ant

Medium

Variable star, range 5.3–5.7

Variable Star mag 5.34 6.2° Antlia

Eight Burst Nebula

NGC 3132

Easy

Small bright planetary nebula

Planetary Nebula mag 8.0 7.5° Vela

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