When is the best time to observe NGC 466?

NGC 466 is best observed from September through November, with peak visibility during October when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 466 located in the sky?

NGC 466 lies in the constellation Tucana at right ascension 01h 17m and declination -58° 55′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 466?

At magnitude 12.7, NGC 466 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 466 — Galaxy in Tucana

Galaxy Fair (33/100)

Lenticular

Magnitude 12.7^m Galaxy Tucana (Tuc) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 12.74

Angular Size 1.6′ × 1.3′

Position Angle 108°

Distance 245.08 million ly

Galaxy Type Lenticular (S0-a)

Description

vF, pS, R, gbM

Position & Identifiers

RA 01h 17m 12.0s

Dec -58° 55' 00.0"

Constellation Tucana (Tuc)

Catalog NGC 466

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.	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 Sep – Nov (peak: Oct)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 466 · 1.6′×1.3′ · 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 484

Medium

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.23 0.5° Tucana

Achernar

HIP 7588; Alpha Eridani

Easy

Bright naked-eye star, mag 0.5

Double Star mag 0.46 3.2° Eridanus

Wurren

HIP 5348; Zeta Phoenicis

Medium

Eclipsing binary, period 1.7d

Variable Star mag 3.92 3.9° Phoenix

NGC 323

Hard+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.53 6.6° Phoenix

NGC 312

Hard+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.39 6.8° Phoenix

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