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NGC 3255 — Open Cluster in Carina

Open Cluster Fair (34/100)
Magnitude 11.0m OpenCluster Carina (Car) Visible
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1Properties

Magnitude 11.0
Angular Size 4.8′
Cl, pS, vC, st 15

Position & Identifiers

RA 10h 26m 31.4s
Dec -60° 40' 30.7"
Constellation Carina (Car)
Catalog NGC 3255

2How easy to spot?

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Telescope Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5
80mm refr. Medium Hard+ Hard
150mm Newt. Easy Medium+ Medium
C8 203mm Easy Easy Medium+
Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

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

Easy on Seestar S50

3Visibility

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Best season Jan – Mar (peak: Feb)

4 Eyepiece View

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6
N E

NGC 3255 · 4.8′ diameter

5 Best Magnification

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6 Classification Decoder

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.

Collinder 228
Easy
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 4.4 2.2° Carina
S Car
Easy
Mira-type variable, range 4.5–9.9
Variable Star mag 5.60 2.2° Carina
NGC 3372
eta Car nebula
Easy
Emission nebula — try an OIII filter
Emission Nebula mag 3.00 2.3° Carina
NGC 3114
Easy
Rich open cluster
Open Cluster mag 4.2 3.0° Carina
IC 2581
Easy
Rich open cluster
Open Cluster mag 4.3 3.1° Carina
NGC 3496
Easy
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 8.2 4.1° Carina
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