When is the best time to observe NGC 6685?

NGC 6685 is best observed from May through July, with peak visibility during June when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 6685 located in the sky?

NGC 6685 lies in the constellation Lyra at right ascension 18h 40m and declination +39° 59′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 6685?

At magnitude 13.7, NGC 6685 is a challenging target that needs at least an 8-inch (200 mm) telescope and dark skies.

NGC 6685 — Galaxy in Lyra

Galaxy Fair (24/100)

Elliptical

Magnitude 13.7^m Galaxy Lyra (Lyr) Visible

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1Properties

Magnitude 13.74

Angular Size 0.9′ × 0.7′

Position Angle 38°

Galaxy Type Elliptical (E-S0)

Description

eeF, vS, R, v diffic, sp of 2

Position & Identifiers

RA 18h 39m 58.6s

Dec +39° 58' 54.5"

Constellation Lyra (Lyr)

Catalog NGC 6685

2How easy to spot?

Telescope	Bortle 3	Bortle 4	Bortle 5
80 mm refractor 80mm refr.	V. hard+	V. hard+	V. hard
150 mm Newton 150mm Newt.	Hard	V. hard+	V. hard+
Celestron C8 (203 mm SCT) C8 203mm	Hard+	Hard	Hard

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 6685 · 0.9′×0.7′ · N up, E left

5 Best Magnification

Explore

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.

XY Lyr

Medium

Semi-regular variable, range 5.8–6.3

Variable Star mag 6.04 0.5° Lyra

Epsilon¹ Lyr

Medium+

Tight double — a rewarding split at 2.2″

Double Star mag 5.06 0.9° Lyra

Vega

HIP 91262; Alpha Lyrae; 3 Lyrae

Easy

Bright naked-eye star, mag 0.0

Star mag 0.03 1.3° Lyra

NGC 6703

Medium+

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 11.4 5.7° Lyra

NGC 6702

Medium

Elliptical galaxy

Galaxy mag 12.2 5.9° Lyra

M57

NGC 6720

Easy

Planetary nebula — try an OIII filter

Planetary Nebula mag 9.0 7.5° Lyra

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