About NGC 4303 (M61)

NGC 4303 is frequently observed by amateur astronomers and appears as a soft glow. It is quite faint.

Current visibility

Right now it is at about 53° altitude and reaches 86° around 08:48 PM.

It stays above 30° for roughly 8 hours.

Galaxies are sensitive to light pollution, contrast improves away from light pollution.

Observing tips

It can be challenging under typical skies.

What to expect

In small telescopes it remains mostly unresolved.

It is less prominent than the brightest objects in the catalog.

Type

Spiral Galaxy

Constellation

Virgo

Distance

60000000 ly

Size

6.0' x 5.5'

Season

Spring

Difficulty

Hard

Magnitude

9.7