When is the best time to observe NGC 3262?

NGC 3262 is best observed from January through March, with peak visibility during February when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 3262 located in the sky?

NGC 3262 lies in the constellation Vela at right ascension 10h 29m and declination -44° 10′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 3262?

At magnitude 13.1, NGC 3262 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 3262 — Galaxy in Vela

Galaxy Fair (33/100)

Lenticular

Magnitude 13.1^m Galaxy Vela (Vel) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 13.13

Angular Size 1.2′ × 0.9′

Position Angle 109°

Distance 134.08 million ly

Galaxy Type Lenticular (S0)

Description

eF, S, R

Position & Identifiers

RA 10h 29m 06.2s

Dec -44° 09' 34.9"

Constellation Vela (Vel)

Catalog NGC 3262

2How easy to spot?

Telescope	Bortle 3	Bortle 4	Bortle 5
80 mm refractor 80mm refr.	V. 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 Jan – Mar (peak: Feb)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 3262 · 1.2′×0.9′ · N up, E left

5 Best Magnification

Explore

6 Surface Brightness

7 Morphology Decoder

8 Inclination & True Shape

9 Redshift

10 Size Comparator

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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 3256

Medium+

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.3 0.3° Vela

NGC 3283

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.74 2.0° Vela

C79

NGC 3201

Easy

Globular cluster — dense ball of ancient stars

Globular Cluster mag 6.8 3.0° Vela

NGC 3250

Medium+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.0 4.2° Antlia

Eight Burst Nebula

NGC 3132

Easy

Small bright planetary nebula

Planetary Nebula mag 8.0 5.5° Vela

Mu Vel

Medium

Tight double — a rewarding split at 2.3″

Double Star mag 2.69 6.1° Vela

NGC 3275

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 7.4° Antlia

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