When is the best time to observe NGC 3631?

NGC 3631 is best observed from February through April, with peak visibility during March when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 3631 located in the sky?

NGC 3631 lies in the constellation Ursa Major at right ascension 11h 21m and declination +53° 10′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 3631?

At magnitude 10.4, NGC 3631 is best observed with a 6-inch (150 mm) or larger telescope.

NGC 3631 — Galaxy in Ursa Major

Galaxy Good (53/100)

Spiral

Magnitude 10.4^m Galaxy Ursa Major (UMa) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 10.4

Angular Size 3.7′ × 3.1′

Position Angle 118°

Distance 53.64 million ly

Galaxy Type Spiral (Sc)

Description

pB, L, R, svmbMrN

Position & Identifiers

RA 11h 20m 60.0s

Dec +53° 10' 00.0"

Constellation Ursa Major (UMa)

Catalog NGC 3631

2How easy to spot?

Telescope	Bortle 3	Bortle 4	Bortle 5
80 mm refractor 80mm refr.	V. hard+	V. hard	Imp.
150 mm Newton 150mm Newt.	Hard	Hard	V. hard+
Celestron C8 (203 mm SCT) C8 203mm	Hard+	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 Feb – Apr (peak: Mar)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 3631 · 3.7′×3.1′ · N up, E left

5 Best Magnification

Explore

6 Surface Brightness

7 Morphology Decoder

8 Inclination & True Shape

9 Redshift

10 Size Comparator

Discover

Light Travel Time Machine

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 3718

Medium+

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 10.5 1.7° Ursa Major

NGC 3729

Hard

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.4 1.9° Ursa Major

M97

Owl Nebula

Hard+

Planetary nebula — try an OIII filter

Planetary Nebula mag 9.9 2.1° Ursa Major

NGC 3756

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.5 2.6° Ursa Major

Galaxy mag 10.1 2.9° Ursa Major

Merak

Beta UMa

Easy

Bright naked-eye star, mag 2.4

Star mag 2.37 4.2° Ursa Major

Z UMa

Easy

Mira-type variable, range 6.2–9.7

Variable Star mag 6.20 6.9° Ursa Major

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