When is the best time to observe NGC 2855?

NGC 2855 is best observed from January through March, with peak visibility during February when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 2855 located in the sky?

NGC 2855 lies in the constellation Hydra at right ascension 09h 21m and declination -11° 55′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 2855?

At magnitude 11.6, NGC 2855 is best observed with a 6-inch (150 mm) or larger telescope.

NGC 2855 — Galaxy in Hydra

Galaxy Fair (35/100)

Lenticular

Magnitude 11.6^m Galaxy Hydra (Hya) Visible

Star Map + List + Plan Star Hop

Observe

1Properties

Magnitude 11.6

Angular Size 3.5′ × 1.9′

Position Angle 120°

Distance 88.99 million ly

Galaxy Type Lenticular (S0-a)

Description

pB, pL, R, gmbMN

Position & Identifiers

RA 09h 21m 27.5s

Dec -11° 54' 34.2"

Constellation Hydra (Hya)

Catalog NGC 2855

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+	Hard	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

Medium on Seestar S50

3Visibility

Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.

Best season Jan – Mar (peak: Feb)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

Log in to set your own equipment

125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 2855 · 3.5′×1.9′ · 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.

IC 2482

Hard

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 13.0 1.4° Hydra

27 Hya

Easy

Colorful double, sep 229.1″

Double Star mag 4.80 2.4° Hydra

NGC 2781

Medium+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.5 3.8° Hydra

NGC 2811

Medium

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.3 4.6° Hydra

21 Hya

Medium

Eclipsing binary, period 7.7d

Variable Star mag 6.11 5.3° Hydra

NGC 2924

Hard+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 13.0 5.6° Hydra

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

Hydra

Mythology, bright stars, and deep-sky highlights.

Constellation