When is the best time to observe IC 4252?

IC 4252 is best observed from March through May, with peak visibility during April when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is IC 4252 located in the sky?

IC 4252 lies in the constellation Hydra at right ascension 13h 27m and declination -27° 19′.

What telescope do I need to see IC 4252?

At magnitude 13.1, IC 4252 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

IC 4252 — Galaxy in Hydra

Galaxy Fair (21/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 13.1^m Galaxy Hydra (Hya) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 13.05

Angular Size 2.0′ × 1.1′

Position Angle 135°

Distance 631.79 million ly

Galaxy Type Elliptical (E-S0)

Description

bM, mag 13.5

Position & Identifiers

RA 13h 27m 28.0s

Dec -27° 19' 29.3"

Constellation Hydra (Hya)

Catalog IC 4252

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 Mar – May (peak: Apr)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

IC 4252 · 2.0′×1.1′ · 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 5101

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 1.3° Hydra

NGC 5078

Hard+

Edge-on galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 1.7° Hydra

NGC 5061

Medium

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 2.1° Hydra

IC 4310

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.48 3.0° Hydra

R Hya

Medium+

Mira-type variable, range 3.5–10.9

Variable Star mag 4.97 4.1° Hydra

4 Cen

Easy

Colorful double, sep 14.8″

Double Star mag 4.73 7.2° Centaurus

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