NGC 6744 (Gal)
Galaxy in Pavo
| R.A. | Dec. | Size | Mag | SB | Cnt.St | Type | Distance | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19h 09m 47.1s | -63° 51′ 13.8″ | 20.0′ | 8.2 | 14.0 | SAB(r)bc | Gal | -- | -- |
Source: POSS-2 UK Schmidt Red (STScI) | Field: 30′ × 30′
Background
NGC 6744 is a face-on barred spiral galaxy 30 million light-years away in Pavo, often called a “Milky Way twin” due to its similar size and morphology. About 200,000 light-years across and a popular target for amateur imagers.
My Observing Notes
25-cm (Club 10-inch LX200): At 9th magnitude this face-on spiral easily stands out at the eyepiece. At 15.5'×10.2' a bright core with a large circular symmetrical halo surrounding it.(Saturday, June 2025)
44-cm (Club 17.5-inch f/5): Bright central core surrounded by a luminous oval halo (21'×15') making up the spiral disk. With averted vision (and a little imagination) I thought I could begin to pick out some structure in the spiral arms.(Saturday, September 2025)
References
Charts
Ultra-wide view (~25° field)
Wide-field view with Telrad rings (4°, 2°, 0.5°)
Finderscope view (9×50 RACI, ~4.4° TFOV)
Eyepiece view — 35 mm Panoptic on 12-inch f/5 (1.6° TFOV)