When is the best time to observe NGC 1979?

NGC 1979 is best observed from November through January, with peak visibility during December when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 1979 located in the sky?

NGC 1979 lies in the constellation Lepus at right ascension 05h 34m and declination -23° 19′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 1979?

At magnitude 13.0, NGC 1979 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 1979 — Galaxy in Lepus

Galaxy Fair (20/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 13.0^m Galaxy Lepus (Lep) Visible

Star Map + List + Plan Star Hop

Observe

1Properties

Magnitude 13.0

Angular Size 1.9′ × 1.8′

Position Angle 145°

Distance 81.45 million ly

Galaxy Type Elliptical (E-S0)

Description

vF, vS, stellar; = IC 2137

Position & Identifiers

RA 05h 34m 01.1s

Dec -23° 18' 36.4"

Constellation Lepus (Lep)

Catalog NGC 1979

2How easy to spot?

Sign in and configure your equipment and default location to see a personalized row.

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

Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.

Best season Nov – Jan (peak: Dec)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

Log in to set your own equipment

125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 1979 · 1.9′×1.8′ · N up, E left

5 Best Magnification

Explore

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 1964

Medium+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 10.8 1.4° Lepus

M79

NGC 1904

Easy

Globular cluster — dense ball of ancient stars

Globular Cluster mag 8.0 2.6° Lepus

NGC 2073

Hard+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 13.0 3.0° Lepus

IC 2143

Hard

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.57 5.5° Lepus

IC 2152

Hard

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.64 5.5° Lepus

S Lep

Easy

Semi-regular variable, range 6.0–7.6

Variable Star mag 6.95 7.3° Lepus

Show on Map

Explore Nightbase

Related knowledge, tools, and stories — no observation planning required.

William Parsons

Built the Leviathan of Parsonstown; first to resolve spiral structure of nebulae

Biography

Galaxies and the Interstellar Medium

The Hubble tuning fork, Tully-Fisher distances, metallicity, Wolf-Rayet stars, HII regions, interstellar dust, the 21-cm hydrogen line, and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect — the working toolkit astronomers use to read galaxies and the stuff between their stars.

Article

Lepus

Mythology, bright stars, and deep-sky highlights.

Constellation