When is the best time to observe NGC 661?

NGC 661 is best observed from September through November, with peak visibility during October when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 661 located in the sky?

NGC 661 lies in the constellation Triangulum at right ascension 01h 44m and declination +28° 42′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 661?

At magnitude 13.0, NGC 661 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 661 — Galaxy in Triangulum

Galaxy Fair (25/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 13.0^m Galaxy Triangulum (Tri) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 13.0

Angular Size 1.9′ × 1.4′

Position Angle 56°

Distance 179.30 million ly

Galaxy Type Elliptical (E)

Description

F, S, R, bM, r

Position & Identifiers

RA 01h 44m 14.6s

Dec +28° 42' 21.2"

Constellation Triangulum (Tri)

Catalog NGC 661

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 Sep – Nov (peak: Oct)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

Seeing Bortle

NGC 661 · 1.9′×1.4′ · 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.

NGC 670

Medium

Bright spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.1 1.1° Triangulum

NGC 672

Medium

Barred spiral galaxy

Galaxy mag 10.8 1.5° Triangulum

Galaxy mag 5.7 3.0° Triangulum

NGC 777

Medium

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.0 4.4° Triangulum

10 Ari

Medium

Tight double — a rewarding split at 1.6″

Double Star mag 5.63 5.1° Aries

C28

NGC 752

Easy

Scattered bright open cluster

Open Cluster mag 5.7 9.5° Andromeda

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