When is the best time to observe NGC 3224?

NGC 3224 is best observed from January through March, with peak visibility during February when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 3224 located in the sky?

NGC 3224 lies in the constellation Antlia at right ascension 10h 22m and declination -34° 42′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 3224?

At magnitude 12.2, NGC 3224 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 3224 — Galaxy in Antlia

Galaxy Fair (24/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 12.2^m Galaxy Antlia (Ant) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 12.21

Angular Size 1.7′ × 1.4′

Position Angle 120°

Distance 141.36 million ly

Galaxy Type Elliptical (E)

Description

vF, pS, R, vgmbM

Position & Identifiers

RA 10h 21m 41.2s

Dec -34° 41' 48.5"

Constellation Antlia (Ant)

Catalog NGC 3224

2How easy to spot?

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

Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

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

Medium on Seestar S50

3Visibility

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Best season Jan – Mar (peak: Feb)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 3224 · 1.7′×1.4′ · 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.

IC 2560

Hard+

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.06 1.6° Antlia

IC 2584

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.67 1.7° Antlia

NGC 3258

Medium

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.7 1.7° Antlia

NGC 3257

Hard

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 13.12 1.7° Antlia

AG Ant

Medium

Variable star, range 5.3–5.7

Variable Star mag 5.34 5.8° Antlia

Eight Burst Nebula

NGC 3132

Easy

Small bright planetary nebula

Planetary Nebula mag 8.0 6.4° Vela

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