About NGC 5985
Description
NGC 5985 is a face-on barred spiral galaxy in Draco, about 120 million light-years away, and the largest member of the photogenic Draco Trio. The trio is one of the more famous compositions in deep-sky imaging because its three members display three different galaxy morphologies side by side: NGC 5985 itself shows multi-arm spiral structure with a small bar, NGC 5982 (just to the west) is a smooth giant elliptical, and NGC 5981 (further west still) is a thin edge-on spiral. The three galaxies fit easily in a single eyepiece or imaging field.
Observing Tips
A 4-inch at moderate power shows three small, distinct glows in a row — already a striking sight despite the modest detail. An 8-inch at 150-200x reveals NGC 5985 as a clearly oval halo with a stellar nucleus, NGC 5982 as a small intensely concentrated round patch, and NGC 5981 as a thin elongated streak. A 12-inch begins to bring out the spiral mottling in NGC 5985 and hints of the dust lane in NGC 5981. Star-hop from Iota Draconis about 1.5 degrees east. Best observed April through August.
History
Discovered by William Herschel on 25 May 1788. The Draco Trio became iconic in late-20th-century amateur astrophotography because the three-galaxy composition is unusually clean — there are no foreground bright stars or other galaxies cluttering the field.
Fun Facts
Despite their close projected proximity, the three galaxies are at slightly different distances and may not form a physically bound group — this is essentially a 'visual triplet' rather than a true gravitationally bound system like Stephan's Quintet. Their alignment is nonetheless one of the more elegant chance arrangements in the sky.
Observe
1Properties
Position & Identifiers
2How easy to spot?
| Telescope | Bortle 3 | Bortle 4 | Bortle 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 mm refractor 80mm refr. | Hard | Hard | V. hard+ |
| 150 mm Newton 150mm Newt. | Medium | Hard+ | Hard+ |
| Celestron C8 (203 mm SCT) C8 203mm | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs
3Visibility
Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.
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Eyepiece View
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Best Magnification
Explore
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Surface Brightness
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Morphology Decoder
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Inclination & True Shape
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Redshift
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Size Comparator
Discover
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Light Travel Time Machine
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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.
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