When is the best time to observe NGC 4957?

NGC 4957 is best observed from March through May, with peak visibility during April when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 4957 located in the sky?

NGC 4957 lies in the constellation Coma Berenices at right ascension 13h 05m and declination +27° 34′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 4957?

At magnitude 12.9, NGC 4957 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 4957 — Galaxy in Coma Berenices

Galaxy Fair (29/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 12.9^m Galaxy Coma Berenices (Com) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 12.9

Angular Size 1.2′ × 0.9′

Position Angle 97°

Distance 320.72 million ly

Galaxy Type Elliptical (E)

Description

F, S, R

Position & Identifiers

RA 13h 05m 12.0s

Dec +27° 34' 00.0"

Constellation Coma Berenices (Com)

Catalog NGC 4957

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	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 Mar – May (peak: Apr)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 4957 · 1.2′×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 4559

Easy

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 9.9 6.5° Coma Berenices

NGC 4656

Medium+

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 10.4 6.5° Canes Venatici

Galaxy mag 9.6 6.6° Coma Berenices

NGC 4631

Easy

Edge-on galaxy

Galaxy mag 9.3 7.0° Canes Venatici

17 Com

Easy

Easy double, sep 146.4″

Double Star mag 5.29 8.3° Coma Berenices

Coma Star Cluster

Easy

Open cluster

Open Cluster mag 1.8 9.1° Coma Berenices

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