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NGC 5288 — Open Cluster in Circinus

Open Cluster Fair (34/100)
Magnitude 12.0m OpenCluster Circinus (Cir) Visible
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1Properties

Magnitude 12.0
Angular Size 3.6′
Cl, S, C, iR, st 14

Position & Identifiers

RA 13h 48m 42.0s
Dec -64° 40' 60.0"
Constellation Circinus (Cir)
Catalog NGC 5288

2How easy to spot?

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

4 Eyepiece View

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6
N E

NGC 5288 · 3.6′ 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.

NGC 5281
Easy
Rich open cluster
Open Cluster mag 5.9 1.8° Centaurus
NGC 5189
Hard+
Planetary nebula — try an OIII filter
Planetary Nebula mag 10.0 2.0° Musca
NGC 5316
Easy
Rich open cluster
Open Cluster mag 6.0 2.9° Centaurus
IC 4291
Easy
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 9.70 2.9° Centaurus
NGC 5168
Easy
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 9.1 4.2° Centaurus
R Cen
Hard+
Mira-type variable, range 5.3–11.8
Variable Star mag 6.39 5.8° Centaurus
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