When is the best time to observe NGC 51?

NGC 51 is best observed from August through October, with peak visibility during September when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 51 located in the sky?

NGC 51 lies in the constellation Andromeda at right ascension 00h 15m and declination +48° 15′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 51?

At magnitude 15.0, NGC 51 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 51 — Galaxy in Andromeda

Galaxy Fair (29/100)

Lenticular

Magnitude 15.0^m Galaxy Andromeda (And) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 15.0

Angular Size 1.4′ × 0.8′

Position Angle 32°

Distance 260.09 million ly

Galaxy Type Lenticular (S0)

Description

pF, pS, R, bM

Position & Identifiers

RA 00h 14m 36.0s

Dec +48° 15' 00.0"

Constellation Andromeda (And)

Catalog NGC 51

2How easy to spot?

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Telescope	Bortle 3	Bortle 4	Bortle 5
80 mm refractor 80mm refr.	V. hard	V. hard	Imp.
150 mm Newton 150mm Newt.	V. hard+	V. hard	V. hard
Celestron C8 (203 mm SCT) C8 203mm	V. hard+	V. hard+	V. 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 Aug – Oct (peak: Sep)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 51 · 1.4′×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

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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.

Galaxy mag 9.5 3.1° Cassiopeia

Galaxy mag 9.2 4.1° Cassiopeia

NGC 278

Medium+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 10.9 6.3° Cassiopeia

NGC 7686

Easy

Rich open cluster

Open Cluster mag 5.6 7.4° Andromeda

M110

Andromeda Satellite #2

Easy

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 8.5 8.0° Andromeda

V373 Cas

Hard+

Variable star, range 5.9–6.3

Variable Star mag 6.00 9.6° Cassiopeia

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