When is the best time to observe NGC 5124?

NGC 5124 is best observed from March through May, with peak visibility during April when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 5124 located in the sky?

NGC 5124 lies in the constellation Centaurus at right ascension 13h 25m and declination -30° 18′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 5124?

At magnitude 13.0, NGC 5124 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 5124 — Galaxy in Centaurus

Galaxy Fair (24/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 13.0^m Galaxy Centaurus (Cen) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 13.0

Angular Size 2.5′ × 0.8′

Position Angle 12°

Distance 192.85 million ly

Galaxy Type Elliptical (E)

Description

vF, S, vlE

Position & Identifiers

RA 13h 24m 50.4s

Dec -30° 18' 27.0"

Constellation Centaurus (Cen)

Catalog NGC 5124

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 Mar – May (peak: Apr)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 5124 · 2.5′×0.8′ · 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.

IC 4214

Hard+

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.40 2.4° Centaurus

Galaxy mag 7.6 2.7° Hydra

NGC 5101

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 3.0° Hydra

NGC 5161

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 3.0° Centaurus

T Cen

Easy

Mira-type variable, range 5.5–9.0

Variable Star mag 6.05 4.9° Centaurus

4 Cen

Easy

Colorful double, sep 14.8″

Double Star mag 4.73 6.3° Centaurus

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