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: 2025-05-21 08:28:34 (GMT), MST=19h26m.

ObjectAlt / Az †RA / DecTypeLinksMagDist (ly)Notes
epsilonLyrae 81° / 268°18:44.3 / 39:40Double telescope code: star 334
M57 (Ring nebula)80° / 224°18:53.6 / +33:02NebulaSEDS, Img8.82,300
Albireo 77° / 176°19:30.7 / +27:58DoubleSEDS, Img3.0(r)/5.1(b)380telescope code: star 223, separation: 34
M27 (Dumbbell nebula)71° / 156°19:59.6 / +22:43NebulaSEDS, Img7.41,250
M92 65° / 287°17:17.1 / +43:08GCSEDS, Img6.426,700
M13 57° / 276°16:41.7 / +36:28GCSEDS, Img5.825,100good, granularity visible
M15 50° / 127°21:30.0 / +12:10GCSEDS, Img6.233,600
M11 42° / 192°18:51.1 / -06:17OC
M16 33° / 200°18:18.6 / -13:47OC
M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)32° / 060°00:42.7 / +41:16GalaxySEDS, Img3.42.9 M
Mizar 31° / 317°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)28° / 309°13:29.9 / +47:12SpiralSEDS, Img8.437.0 Mfaint, two galaxies may be visible
NGC 869 (Double Cluster)26° / 036°02:19.0 / +57:08OCSEDS, Img5.37,000h and Chi Persei, NGC 869 and NGC 884
M40 25° / 325°12:22.4 / +58:05DoubleSEDS, Img8.4510
M22 25° / 192°18:36.4 / -23.54GC
M63 23° / 305°13:15.8 / +42:02SpiralSEDS, Img8.637.0 Mabout 5' from a star, can see it's flattened
M20 23° / 201°18:02.3 / -23.02Nebula
M82 23° / 346°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)22° / 346°09:55.6 / +69:04SpiralSEDS, Img6.912.0 Mit's fun to watch as the telescope moves between M81 and M82
M8 22° / 200°18:03.8 / -24:23Nebula/OC
M5 22° / 252°15:18.6 / +02:05GCSEDS, Img5.624,500good, granularity visible
Moon (phase: 0.780)22° / 123°22:52.8 / -8:27satellite -2.5/-12.9384telescope code: star 903
M3 20° / 290°13:42.2 / +28:23GCSEDS, Img6.233,900
M94 19° / 307°12:50.9 / +41:07SpiralSEDS, Img8.214.5 Mgood, compact and easy to see, but not much structure
M106 18° / 316°12:19.0 / +47:18 SpiralSEDS, Img8.425.0 M
M33 (Triangulum Galaxy)18° / 064°01:33.9 / +30:39GalaxySEDS, Img5.73.0 M
M97 (Owl nebula)17° / 329°11:14.8 / +55:01NebulaSEDS, Img9.92,600
Neptune 15° / 102°00:08.1 / 00:31planet 8.0/7.830 AUtelescope code: star 908
Saturn 14° / 105°00:02.2 / -2:00planet 1.5/-0.59.5 AUtelescope code: star 906
M4 10° / 220°16:23.6 / -26:32GCSEDS, Img5.67,200
M53 9° / 286°13:12.9 / +18:10GCSEDS, Img7.658,000
Venus 8° / 091°00:58.0 / 04:39planet -4.6/-3.80.7 AUtelescope code: star 902
M64 (Blackeye galaxy) 8° / 291°12:56.7 / +21:41SpiralSEDS, Img8.519.0 Mflattened, fairly faint
M87 -2° / 288°12:30.8 / +12:24Ell.SEDS, Img8.660.0 Mthe picture shows the jet
M86 -2° / 289°12:26.2 / +12:57Lent.SEDS, Img8.960.0 Msee M84
M84 -3° / 289°12:25.1 / +12:53Lent.SEDS, Img9.160.0 MM84 and M86 visible in same field with fiddling
M49 -5° / 285°12:29.8 / +08:00Ell.SEDS, Img8.460.0 ME5 (with imagination), not very good
Mercury -7° / 060°03:11.9 / 16:51planet 5.7/-2.40.4 AUtelescope code: star 901
M45 (Pleiades)-7° / 048°03:47.0 / +24:07OCSEDS, Img1.6440
Uranus -10° / 053°03:41.1 / 19:23planet 5.9/5.319 AUtelescope code: star 907
M104 (Sombrero galaxy)-16° / 268°12:40.0 / -11:37GalaxySEDS, Img850.0 M
(Hyades)-19° / 046°04:27.0 / +16:00OCSEDS, Img0.5150near Aldebaran and NGC 1647. Nearest open cluster.
Jupiter -21° / 026°05:41.0 / 23:10planet -1.6/-2.95.2 AUtelescope code: star 905
M1 (Crab nebula)-22° / 028°05:34.5 / +22:01NebulaSEDS, Img8.46,300
Mars -26° / 331°09:13.8 / 17:44planet 1.8/-2.91.5 AUtelescope code: star 904
M44 (Beehive cluster)-27° / 340°08:40.1 / +19:59 OCSEDS, Img3.7577
(Eskimo nebula)-28° / 359°07:29.2 / +20:55 NebulaSEDS, Img10
M42 (Orion nebula)-47° / 043°05:35.4 / -05:27 NebulaSEDS, Img41,600