When is the best time to observe NGC 3147?

NGC 3147 is best observed from January through March, with peak visibility during February when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 3147 located in the sky?

NGC 3147 lies in the constellation Draco at right ascension 10h 17m and declination +73° 24′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 3147?

At magnitude 10.7, NGC 3147 is best observed with a 6-inch (150 mm) or larger telescope.

NGC 3147 — Galaxy in Draco

Galaxy Good (53/100)

Barred Spiral

Magnitude 10.7^m Galaxy Draco (Dra) Visible

Star Map + List + Plan Star Hop

Observe

1Properties

Magnitude 10.7

Angular Size 4.1′ × 3.5′

Position Angle 152°

Distance 130.65 million ly

Galaxy Type Barred Spiral (Sbc)

Description

vB, L, R, vgvsvmbM

Position & Identifiers

RA 10h 16m 54.0s

Dec +73° 24' 00.0"

Constellation Draco (Dra)

Catalog NGC 3147

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.	Medium	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 3147 · 4.1′×3.5′ · 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 3065

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 1.7° Ursa Major

NGC 2985

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 10.5 2.2° Ursa Major

NGC 3348

Medium+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.2 2.3° Ursa Major

NGC 3516

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.6 3.7° Ursa Major

VY UMa

Medium

Semi-regular variable, range 5.9–6.5

Variable Star mag 6.00 6.4° Ursa Major

Sigma UMa

HIP 45038; Sigma2 Ursae Majoris; 13 Ursae Majoris

Medium+

Colorful double, sep 4.7″

Double Star mag 4.80 8.4° Ursa Major

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

Draco

Mythology, bright stars, and deep-sky highlights.

Constellation