Observing List

† Alt/Az Note: Values shown in green are observable (above 20° altitude), values in yellow are above the horizon but below 20°, and values shown in red are below the horizon. When planning observations, be sure to select an appropriate observing time! NOTE THAT ALL TIMES BELOW ARE IN GMT.

For planets (highlighted in magenta), distances are heliocentric in Astronomical Units (AU, 1 AU = 150 million km), and magnitudes are given as a range. These values are not recomputed for the current date.

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Alt/Az values correspond to: 2026-09-15 22:59:07 (GMT), MST=17h40m.

ObjectAlt / Az †RA / DecTypeLinksMagDist (ly)Notes
M92 84° / 304°17:17.1 / +43:08GCSEDS, Img6.426,700
M13 77° / 255°16:41.7 / +36:28GCSEDS, Img5.825,100good, granularity visible
epsilonLyrae 77° / 088°18:44.3 / 39:40Double telescope code: star 334
M57 (Ring nebula)73° / 110°18:53.6 / +33:02NebulaSEDS, Img8.82,300
Albireo 64° / 110°19:30.7 / +27:58DoubleSEDS, Img3.0(r)/5.1(b)380telescope code: star 223, separation: 34
M27 (Dumbbell nebula)55° / 110°19:59.6 / +22:43NebulaSEDS, Img7.41,250
Mizar 46° / 311°13:23.9 / +54:56DoubleSEDS, Img2.278telescope code: star 137, first known double star: 14 arcsec separation, 500 AU (12') from Alcor (4th mag)
M51 (Whirlpool galaxy)45° / 300°13:29.9 / +47:12SpiralSEDS, Img8.437.0 Mfaint, two galaxies may be visible
M63 41° / 294°13:15.8 / +42:02SpiralSEDS, Img8.637.0 Mabout 5' from a star, can see it's flattened
M11 40° / 156°18:51.1 / -06:17OC
M3 40° / 275°13:42.2 / +28:23GCSEDS, Img6.233,900
M5 40° / 229°15:18.6 / +02:05GCSEDS, Img5.624,500good, granularity visible
M40 38° / 318°12:22.4 / +58:05DoubleSEDS, Img8.4510
M94 36° / 296°12:50.9 / +41:07SpiralSEDS, Img8.214.5 Mgood, compact and easy to see, but not much structure
M16 35° / 168°18:18.6 / -13:47OC
M106 34° / 306°12:19.0 / +47:18 SpiralSEDS, Img8.425.0 M
M15 32° / 102°21:30.0 / +12:10GCSEDS, Img6.233,600
M82 29° / 339°09:55.8 / +69:41Irr.SEDS, Img8.412.0 Minteresting morphology, looks about 3-4 times longer than it is thick
M53 29° / 269°13:12.9 / +18:10GCSEDS, Img7.658,000
M81 (Bode's galaxy)29° / 338°09:55.6 / +69:04SpiralSEDS, Img6.912.0 Mit's fun to watch as the telescope moves between M81 and M82
M97 (Owl nebula)28° / 319°11:14.8 / +55:01NebulaSEDS, Img9.92,600
M64 (Blackeye galaxy)28° / 275°12:56.7 / +21:41SpiralSEDS, Img8.519.0 Mflattened, fairly faint
M20 26° / 174°18:02.3 / -23.02Nebula
M8 24° / 174°18:03.8 / -24:23Nebula/OC
M22 24° / 165°18:36.4 / -23.54GC
M4 20° / 198°16:23.6 / -26:32GCSEDS, Img5.67,200
M87 17° / 271°12:30.8 / +12:24Ell.SEDS, Img8.660.0 Mthe picture shows the jet
Moon (phase: 0.161)17° / 216°15:08.0 / -22:57satellite -2.5/-12.9384telescope code: star 903
M86 17° / 272°12:26.2 / +12:57Lent.SEDS, Img8.960.0 Msee M84
M84 16° / 272°12:25.1 / +12:53Lent.SEDS, Img9.160.0 MM84 and M86 visible in same field with fiddling
NGC 869 (Double Cluster)16° / 025°02:19.0 / +57:08OCSEDS, Img5.37,000h and Chi Persei, NGC 869 and NGC 884
M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)15° / 048°00:42.7 / +41:16GalaxySEDS, Img3.42.9 M
M49 14° / 268°12:29.8 / +08:00Ell.SEDS, Img8.460.0 ME5 (with imagination), not very good
Venus 12° / 233°13:57.0 / -17:38planet -4.6/-3.80.7 AUtelescope code: star 902
Mercury 7° / 259°12:32.0 / -3:18planet 5.7/-2.40.4 AUtelescope code: star 901
M104 (Sombrero galaxy) 3° / 251°12:40.0 / -11:37GalaxySEDS, Img850.0 M
M33 (Triangulum Galaxy) 1° / 049°01:33.9 / +30:39GalaxySEDS, Img5.73.0 M
Neptune -6° / 084°00:14.3 / 00:00planet 8.0/7.830 AUtelescope code: star 908
Saturn -11° / 076°00:51.0 / 02:32planet 1.5/-0.59.5 AUtelescope code: star 906
Jupiter -14° / 306°09:17.5 / 16:20planet -1.6/-2.95.2 AUtelescope code: star 905
M44 (Beehive cluster)-16° / 316°08:40.1 / +19:59 OCSEDS, Img3.7577
M45 (Pleiades)-20° / 027°03:47.0 / +24:07OCSEDS, Img1.6440
Mars -21° / 330°07:38.6 / 22:16planet 1.8/-2.91.5 AUtelescope code: star 904
(Eskimo nebula)-23° / 332°07:29.2 / +20:55 NebulaSEDS, Img10
Uranus -25° / 022°04:15.2 / 21:06planet 5.9/5.319 AUtelescope code: star 907
M1 (Crab nebula)-27° / 001°05:34.5 / +22:01NebulaSEDS, Img8.46,300
(Hyades)-31° / 020°04:27.0 / +16:00OCSEDS, Img0.5150near Aldebaran and NGC 1647. Nearest open cluster.
M42 (Orion nebula)-55° / 002°05:35.4 / -05:27 NebulaSEDS, Img41,600