When is the best time to observe NGC 1808?

NGC 1808 is best observed from November through January, with peak visibility during December when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 1808 located in the sky?

NGC 1808 lies in the constellation Columba at right ascension 05h 08m and declination -37° 31′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 1808?

At magnitude 9.9, NGC 1808 is within reach of a 3-inch (80 mm) telescope from a moderate-Bortle site.

NGC 1808 — Galaxy in Columba

Galaxy Excellent (62/100)

Spiral

Magnitude 9.9^m Galaxy Columba (Col) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 9.9

Angular Size 5.4′ × 1.8′

Position Angle 135°

Distance 46.70 million ly

Galaxy Type Spiral (SABa)

Description

B, L, E, psbM

Position & Identifiers

RA 05h 07m 42.0s

Dec -37° 31' 00.0"

Constellation Columba (Col)

Catalog NGC 1808

2How easy to spot?

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

Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

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

Easy 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

NGC 1808 · 5.4′×1.8′ · 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.

Gamma Cae

Medium

Easy double, sep 3.2″

Double Star mag 4.55 2.1° Caelum

IC 2122

Hard

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 13.08 2.3° Columba

C73

NGC 1851

Easy

Globular cluster — dense ball of ancient stars

Globular Cluster mag 7.3 2.8° Columba

NGC 1800

Hard

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.6 5.6° Columba

NGC 1668

Hard+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.92 8.3° Caelum

NGC 2090

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 8.6° Columba

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