When is the best time to observe NGC 3385?

NGC 3385 is best observed from January through March, with peak visibility during February when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 3385 located in the sky?

NGC 3385 lies in the constellation Sextans at right ascension 10h 48m and declination +04° 56′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 3385?

At magnitude 13.0, NGC 3385 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 3385 — Galaxy in Sextans

Galaxy Fair (28/100)

Lenticular

Magnitude 13.0^m Galaxy Sextans (Sex) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 13.0

Angular Size 1.6′ × 0.9′

Position Angle 98°

Distance 361.50 million ly

Galaxy Type Lenticular (S0)

Description

vF, S, R, s of 2

Position & Identifiers

RA 10h 48m 11.6s

Dec +04° 55' 40.1"

Constellation Sextans (Sex)

Catalog NGC 3385

2How easy to spot?

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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

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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 3385 · 1.6′×0.9′ · 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.

NGC 3423

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.2 1.2° Sextans

35 Sex

Easy

Easy double, sep 6.8″

Double Star mag 5.79 1.2° Sextans

56 Leo

Hard+

Semi-regular variable, range 5.7–6.0

Variable Star mag 5.81 2.3° Leo

NGC 3332

Hard+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 13.0 4.7° Leo

NGC 3521

Easy

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 8.9 6.6° Leo

Galaxy mag 9.7 6.9° Leo

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