When is the best time to observe NGC 5481?

NGC 5481 is best observed from March through May, with peak visibility during April when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 5481 located in the sky?

NGC 5481 lies in the constellation Boötes at right ascension 14h 07m and declination +50° 43′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 5481?

At magnitude 13.0, NGC 5481 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 5481 — Galaxy in Boötes

Galaxy Fair (29/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 13.0^m Galaxy Boötes (Boo) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 13.0

Angular Size 1.8′ × 1.2′

Position Angle 113°

Distance 96.54 million ly

Galaxy Type Elliptical (E)

Description

F, vS, smbM, stellar, sf of 2

Position & Identifiers

RA 14h 06m 42.0s

Dec +50° 43' 00.0"

Constellation Boötes (Boo)

Catalog NGC 5481

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 5481 · 1.8′×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.

Kappa Boo

HIP 69483; Kappa2 Bootis; 17 Bootis

Easy

Easy double, sep 13.7″

Double Star mag 4.54 1.5° Boötes

Galaxy mag 7.9 3.7° Ursa Major

NGC 5660

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.8 3.9° Boötes

NGC 5377

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.2 3.9° Canes Venatici

IC 1029

Medium

Edge-on galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.29 4.2° Boötes

44 Boo

Medium

Eclipsing binary, period 6.4h

Variable Star mag 4.76 9.8° Boötes

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