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NGC 6172 — Galaxy in Ophiuchus

Galaxy Fair (24/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 13.3m Galaxy Ophiuchus (Oph) Visible
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1Properties

Magnitude 13.30
Angular Size 0.9′
Position Angle 80°
Galaxy Type Elliptical (E)
vF, eS, R, bM

Position & Identifiers

RA 16h 32m 06.0s
Dec -01° 28' 60.0"
Constellation Ophiuchus (Oph)
Catalog NGC 6172

2How easy to spot?

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Telescope Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5
80mm refr. V. hard+ V. hard+ V. hard+
150mm Newt. Hard Hard V. hard+
C8 203mm Hard+ 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 Apr – Jun (peak: May)

4 Eyepiece View

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6
N E

NGC 6172 · 0.9′×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

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.

Marfik
Lambda Oph
Hard+
Tight double — a rewarding split at 1.3″
Double Star mag 3.82 3.5° Ophiuchus
M12
NGC 6218
Easy
Large bright globular cluster
Globular Cluster mag 6.7 3.8° Ophiuchus
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