Go / no go for deep skyGo / no go for deep sky imaging
M85
lenticular galaxy in Coma Berenices
M85 is a lenticular galaxy at the northern edge of the Virgo Cluster, in Coma Berenices. It is smooth and round, with a bright core, and a small galaxy, NGC 4394, sits beside it.
Save your telescope or lens on the planner to lay your camera frame over this diagram.
// Key facts
- Catalog
- M85
- Type
- lenticular galaxy
- Constellation
- Coma Berenices
- Size
- 8′ across
- Brightness
- Magnitude 9.1
- Distance
- about 60 million light-years
- Peak month (any location)
- Mar
- Typical prime months
- Jan to Jun
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Filter
- No filter (broadband); a light-pollution filter is optional
Pick a saved location or share your device location. Your coordinates are used only to calculate tonight and are not stored. To save locations, use the planner.
How to image M85
- At 8 arcminutes, use 1,200 to 1,500 mm.
- It shares the sky with M88, M91 and M98, so a wide frame or mosaic is worthwhile.
- Best in spring evenings from northern sites.
Framing: what focal length?
M85 is small, so a "60% of the frame" focal length would be impractical. Here is how much of an APS-C frame it covers at common long focal lengths; expect to crop.
| Focal length | Share of the frame width |
|---|---|
| 1,000 mm | about 10% |
| 2,000 mm | about 20% |
| 3,000 mm | about 30% |
How high does it climb from your latitude?
The highest point M85 reaches in the sky. Above about 60° is excellent, 30° to 60° is workable, and under 30° you are looking through a lot of air.
| Latitude | Highest point | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 55°N (Scotland, Alaska) | 53° | Workable |
| 45°N (Minneapolis, Milan) | 63° | High in the sky |
| 35°N (Los Angeles, Tokyo) | 73° | High in the sky |
| 25°N (Miami, Cairo) | 83° | High in the sky |
| 35°S (Sydney, Santiago) | 37° | Workable |
Also worth imaging
Want a GO / NO-GO verdict for tonight, with clouds, moon, seeing and a full dark-window timeline?
Open the planner