When is the best time to observe NGC 2179?

NGC 2179 is best observed from November through January, with peak visibility during December when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 2179 located in the sky?

NGC 2179 lies in the constellation Lepus at right ascension 06h 08m and declination -21° 45′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 2179?

At magnitude 12.5, NGC 2179 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 2179 — Galaxy in Lepus

Galaxy Fair (33/100)

Lenticular

Magnitude 12.5^m Galaxy Lepus (Lep) Visible

Star Map + List + Plan Star Hop

Observe

1Properties

Magnitude 12.5

Angular Size 2.0′ × 1.4′

Position Angle 165°

Distance 129.67 million ly

Galaxy Type Lenticular (S0-a)

Description

F, pS, bet 2 st, glbM

Position & Identifiers

RA 06h 08m 02.2s

Dec -21° 44' 48.1"

Constellation Lepus (Lep)

Catalog NGC 2179

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

NGC 2179 · 2.0′×1.4′ · 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 2.5° Lepus

IC 2152

Hard

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.64 2.7° Lepus

NGC 2204

Easy

Open cluster

Open Cluster mag 8.6 3.5° Canis Major

Double Star mag 1.98 5.1° Canis Major

NGC 2073

Hard+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 13.0 5.1° Lepus

IC 2143

Hard

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.57 5.8° Lepus

IC 2158

Hard+

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.06 6.1° Columba

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