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: 2026-05-01 08:33:22 (GMT), MST=18h11m.

ObjectAlt / Az †RA / DecTypeLinksMagDist (ly)Notes
epsilonLyrae 83° / 093°18:44.3 / 39:40Double telescope code: star 334
M92 79° / 289°17:17.1 / +43:08GCSEDS, Img6.426,700
M57 (Ring nebula)78° / 128°18:53.6 / +33:02NebulaSEDS, Img8.82,300
M13 71° / 264°16:41.7 / +36:28GCSEDS, Img5.825,100good, granularity visible
Albireo 69° / 121°19:30.7 / +27:58DoubleSEDS, Img3.0(r)/5.1(b)380telescope code: star 223, separation: 34
M27 (Dumbbell nebula)61° / 119°19:59.6 / +22:43NebulaSEDS, Img7.41,250
M11 42° / 166°18:51.1 / -06:17OC
Mizar 41° / 312°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)40° / 302°13:29.9 / +47:12SpiralSEDS, Img8.437.0 Mfaint, two galaxies may be visible
M15 38° / 108°21:30.0 / +12:10GCSEDS, Img6.233,600
M63 36° / 297°13:15.8 / +42:02SpiralSEDS, Img8.637.0 Mabout 5' from a star, can see it's flattened
M16 35° / 177°18:18.6 / -13:47OC
M5 35° / 237°15:18.6 / +02:05GCSEDS, Img5.624,500good, granularity visible
M40 34° / 320°12:22.4 / +58:05DoubleSEDS, Img8.4510
M3 34° / 280°13:42.2 / +28:23GCSEDS, Img6.233,900
M94 31° / 299°12:50.9 / +41:07SpiralSEDS, Img8.214.5 Mgood, compact and easy to see, but not much structure
M106 29° / 308°12:19.0 / +47:18 SpiralSEDS, Img8.425.0 M
M82 27° / 341°09:55.8 / +69:41Irr.SEDS, Img8.412.0 Minteresting morphology, looks about 3-4 times longer than it is thick
M81 (Bode's galaxy)26° / 340°09:55.6 / +69:04SpiralSEDS, Img6.912.0 Mit's fun to watch as the telescope moves between M81 and M82
M20 26° / 182°18:02.3 / -23.02Nebula
M22 25° / 173°18:36.4 / -23.54GC
M8 25° / 182°18:03.8 / -24:23Nebula/OC
M97 (Owl nebula)25° / 322°11:14.8 / +55:01NebulaSEDS, Img9.92,600
M53 23° / 274°13:12.9 / +18:10GCSEDS, Img7.658,000
M64 (Blackeye galaxy)22° / 280°12:56.7 / +21:41SpiralSEDS, Img8.519.0 Mflattened, fairly faint
M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)20° / 052°00:42.7 / +41:16GalaxySEDS, Img3.42.9 M
NGC 869 (Double Cluster)19° / 029°02:19.0 / +57:08OCSEDS, Img5.37,000h and Chi Persei, NGC 869 and NGC 884
M4 18° / 205°16:23.6 / -26:32GCSEDS, Img5.67,200
M87 11° / 276°12:30.8 / +12:24Ell.SEDS, Img8.660.0 Mthe picture shows the jet
M86 11° / 277°12:26.2 / +12:57Lent.SEDS, Img8.960.0 Msee M84
M84 10° / 277°12:25.1 / +12:53Lent.SEDS, Img9.160.0 MM84 and M86 visible in same field with fiddling
Moon (phase: 0.489) 9° / 236°14:12.0 / -17:54satellite -2.5/-12.9384telescope code: star 903
M49 8° / 273°12:29.8 / +08:00Ell.SEDS, Img8.460.0 ME5 (with imagination), not very good
M33 (Triangulum Galaxy) 5° / 054°01:33.9 / +30:39GalaxySEDS, Img5.73.0 M
Neptune 0° / 089°00:14.1 / 00:05planet 8.0/7.830 AUtelescope code: star 908
M104 (Sombrero galaxy)-2° / 256°12:40.0 / -11:37GalaxySEDS, Img850.0 M
Saturn -3° / 084°00:37.2 / 01:38planet 1.5/-0.59.5 AUtelescope code: star 906
Mars -5° / 077°01:02.7 / 05:43planet 1.8/-2.91.5 AUtelescope code: star 904
Mercury -10° / 068°01:41.6 / 08:30planet 5.7/-2.40.4 AUtelescope code: star 901
M45 (Pleiades)-17° / 034°03:47.0 / +24:07OCSEDS, Img1.6440
M44 (Beehive cluster)-20° / 322°08:40.1 / +19:59 OCSEDS, Img3.7577
Uranus -21° / 035°03:52.6 / 20:03planet 5.9/5.319 AUtelescope code: star 907
Venus -22° / 026°04:27.4 / 22:39planet -4.6/-3.80.7 AUtelescope code: star 902
Jupiter -25° / 342°07:22.4 / 22:29planet -1.6/-2.95.2 AUtelescope code: star 905
(Eskimo nebula)-26° / 339°07:29.2 / +20:55 NebulaSEDS, Img10
M1 (Crab nebula)-26° / 009°05:34.5 / +22:01NebulaSEDS, Img8.46,300
(Hyades)-28° / 028°04:27.0 / +16:00OCSEDS, Img0.5150near Aldebaran and NGC 1647. Nearest open cluster.
M42 (Orion nebula)-54° / 015°05:35.4 / -05:27 NebulaSEDS, Img41,600