When is the best time to observe NGC 4385?

NGC 4385 is best observed from February through April, with peak visibility during March when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 4385 located in the sky?

NGC 4385 lies in the constellation Virgo at right ascension 12h 26m and declination +00° 34′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 4385?

At magnitude 12.4, NGC 4385 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 4385 — Galaxy in Virgo

Galaxy Fair (33/100)

Lenticular

Magnitude 12.4^m Galaxy Virgo (Vir) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 12.4

Angular Size 2.1′ × 1.2′

Position Angle 91°

Distance 100.29 million ly

Galaxy Type Lenticular (S0-a)

Description

vF, vS, alm stell

Position & Identifiers

RA 12h 25m 42.0s

Dec +00° 34' 00.0"

Constellation Virgo (Vir)

Catalog NGC 4385

2How easy to spot?

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

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 4385 · 2.1′×1.2′ · 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 4454

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.1 2.6° Virgo

NGC 4536

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 10.4 2.7° Virgo

NGC 4527

Medium+

Edge-on galaxy

Galaxy mag 10.4 3.0° Virgo

NGC 4457

Medium+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 10.8 3.1° Virgo

Porrima

HIP 61941; Gamma Virginis; 29 Virginis

Easy

Easy double, sep 3.6″

Double Star mag 3.65 4.5° Virgo

R Vir

Hard+

Mira-type variable, range 6.0–12.1

Variable Star mag 7.08 7.2° Virgo

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