About NGC 4621 (M59)

NGC 4621 is frequently observed by amateur astronomers and is visible as a compact luminous region. It is quite faint.

Current visibility

Right now it is at about 53° altitude and reaches 78° around 12:19 AM.

It stays above 30° for roughly 8 hours.

Galaxies are sensitive to light pollution, structure becomes clearer under good conditions.

Observing tips

It can be challenging under typical skies.

What to expect

It appears more compact than typical clusters.

Type

Elliptical Galaxy

Constellation

Virgo

Distance

60000000 ly

Size

5.1' x 3.4'

Season

Spring

Difficulty

Hard

Magnitude

9.6