When is the best time to observe NGC 6407?

NGC 6407 is best observed from May through July, with peak visibility during June when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 6407 located in the sky?

NGC 6407 lies in the constellation Pavo at right ascension 17h 45m and declination -60° 44′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 6407?

At magnitude 12.1, NGC 6407 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 6407 — Galaxy in Pavo

Galaxy Fair (33/100)

Lenticular

Magnitude 12.1^m Galaxy Pavo (Pav) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 12.14

Angular Size 2.5′ × 1.9′

Position Angle 56°

Distance 214.37 million ly

Galaxy Type Lenticular (S0)

Description

eF, S, R, 3 st nr

Position & Identifiers

RA 17h 45m 00.0s

Dec -60° 43' 60.0"

Constellation Pavo (Pav)

Catalog NGC 6407

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

Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs

Medium on Seestar S50

3Visibility

Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.

Best season May – Jul (peak: Jun)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 6407 · 2.5′×1.9′ · 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

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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.

NGC 6398

Hard+

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.61 1.0° Pavo

IC 4653

Hard+

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.55 2.2° Ara

NGC 6483

Medium

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.96 3.4° Pavo

NGC 6305

Medium

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.15 3.7° Ara

Xi Pav

Medium

Easy double, sep 3.7″

Double Star mag 4.36 4.7° Pavo

NGC 6362

Easy

Globular cluster — dense ball of ancient stars

Globular Cluster mag 8.3 6.5° Ara

V539 Ara

Medium

Eclipsing binary, period 3.2d

Variable Star mag 5.92 7.2° Ara

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