† 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.
Object | Alt / Az † | RA / Dec | Type | Links | Mag | Dist (ly) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) | 86° / 284° | 00:42.7 / +41:16 | Galaxy | SEDS, Img | 3.4 | 2.9 M | |
M33 (Triangulum Galaxy) | 78° / 144° | 01:33.9 / +30:39 | Galaxy | SEDS, Img | 5.7 | 3.0 M | |
NGC 869 (Double Cluster) | 69° / 029° | 02:19.0 / +57:08 | OC | SEDS, Img | 5.3 | 7,000 | h and Chi Persei, NGC 869 and NGC 884 |
M45 (Pleiades) | 52° / 102° | 03:47.0 / +24:07 | OC | SEDS, Img | 1.6 | 440 | |
Neptune | 48° / 201° | 00:07.4 / 00:41 | planet | 8.0/7.8 | 30 AU | telescope code: star 908 | |
Uranus | 47° / 105° | 03:57.5 / 20:14 | planet | 5.9/5.3 | 19 AU | telescope code: star 907 | |
Saturn | 45° / 201° | 00:04.7 / -2:11 | planet | 1.5/-0.5 | 9.5 AU | telescope code: star 906 | |
(Hyades) | 39° / 103° | 04:27.0 / +16:00 | OC | SEDS, Img | 0.5 | 150 | near Aldebaran and NGC 1647. Nearest open cluster. |
M15 | 35° / 254° | 21:30.0 / +12:10 | GC | SEDS, Img | 6.2 | 33,600 | |
M1 (Crab nebula) | 30° / 085° | 05:34.5 / +22:01 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 6,300 | |
M82 | 25° / 016° | 09:55.8 / +69:41 | Irr. | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 12.0 M | interesting morphology, looks about 3-4 times longer than it is thick |
M27 (Dumbbell nebula) | 25° / 279° | 19:59.6 / +22:43 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 7.4 | 1,250 | |
M81 (Bode's galaxy) | 24° / 016° | 09:55.6 / +69:04 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 6.9 | 12.0 M | it's fun to watch as the telescope moves between M81 and M82 |
Albireo | 22° / 288° | 19:30.7 / +27:58 | Double | SEDS, Img | 3.0(r)/5.1(b) | 380 | telescope code: star 223, separation: 34 |
epsilonLyrae | 21° / 304° | 18:44.3 / 39:40 | Double | telescope code: star 334 | |||
M57 (Ring nebula) | 19° / 297° | 18:53.6 / +33:02 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 8.8 | 2,300 | |
M42 (Orion nebula) | 12° / 108° | 05:35.4 / -05:27 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 4 | 1,600 | |
Jupiter | 11° / 070° | 07:15.3 / 22:16 | planet | -1.6/-2.9 | 5.2 AU | telescope code: star 905 | |
M92 | 11° / 318° | 17:17.1 / +43:08 | GC | SEDS, Img | 6.4 | 26,700 | |
M40 | 8° / 005° | 12:22.4 / +58:05 | Double | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 510 | |
(Eskimo nebula) | 8° / 069° | 07:29.2 / +20:55 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 10 | ||
M97 (Owl nebula) | 8° / 015° | 11:14.8 / +55:01 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 9.9 | 2,600 | |
Mizar | 5° / 356° | 13:23.9 / +54:56 | Double | SEDS, Img | 2.2 | 78 | telescope code: star 137, first known double star: 14 arcsec separation, 500 AU (12') from Alcor (4th mag) |
M13 | 1° / 318° | 16:41.7 / +36:28 | GC | SEDS, Img | 5.8 | 25,100 | good, granularity visible |
M106 | -1° / 007° | 12:19.0 / +47:18 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 25.0 M | |
M51 (Whirlpool galaxy) | -2° / 355° | 13:29.9 / +47:12 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 37.0 M | faint, two galaxies may be visible |
Venus | -2° / 062° | 08:26.6 / 19:09 | planet | -4.6/-3.8 | 0.7 AU | telescope code: star 902 | |
M44 (Beehive cluster) | -4° / 059° | 08:40.1 / +19:59 | OC | SEDS, Img | 3.7 | 577 | |
M11 | -6° / 267° | 18:51.1 / -06:17 | OC | ||||
M63 | -7° / 357° | 13:15.8 / +42:02 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 8.6 | 37.0 M | about 5' from a star, can see it's flattened |
M94 | -8° / 002° | 12:50.9 / +41:07 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 8.2 | 14.5 M | good, compact and easy to see, but not much structure |
Mercury | -17° / 051° | 09:39.6 / 15:16 | planet | 5.7/-2.4 | 0.4 AU | telescope code: star 901 | |
M16 | -17° / 266° | 18:18.6 / -13:47 | OC | ||||
M22 | -19° / 255° | 18:36.4 / -23.54 | GC | ||||
M3 | -20° / 350° | 13:42.2 / +28:23 | GC | SEDS, Img | 6.2 | 33,900 | |
M20 | -25° / 260° | 18:02.3 / -23.02 | Nebula | ||||
M8 | -26° / 259° | 18:03.8 / -24:23 | Nebula/OC | ||||
M64 (Blackeye galaxy) | -27° / 001° | 12:56.7 / +21:41 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 8.5 | 19.0 M | flattened, fairly faint |
M53 | -31° / 357° | 13:12.9 / +18:10 | GC | SEDS, Img | 7.6 | 58,000 | |
M86 | -36° / 010° | 12:26.2 / +12:57 | Lent. | SEDS, Img | 8.9 | 60.0 M | see M84 |
M84 | -36° / 011° | 12:25.1 / +12:53 | Lent. | SEDS, Img | 9.1 | 60.0 M | M84 and M86 visible in same field with fiddling |
M87 | -36° / 009° | 12:30.8 / +12:24 | Ell. | SEDS, Img | 8.6 | 60.0 M | the picture shows the jet |
M5 | -37° / 315° | 15:18.6 / +02:05 | GC | SEDS, Img | 5.6 | 24,500 | good, granularity visible |
M49 | -41° / 010° | 12:29.8 / +08:00 | Ell. | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 60.0 M | E5 (with imagination), not very good |
M4 | -46° / 272° | 16:23.6 / -26:32 | GC | SEDS, Img | 5.6 | 7,200 | |
Mars | -54° / 004° | 12:52.6 / -5:19 | planet | 1.8/-2.9 | 1.5 AU | telescope code: star 904 | |
Moon (phase: 0.191) | -60° / 305° | 14:43.9 / -20:28 | satellite | -2.5/-12.9 | 384 | telescope code: star 903 | |
M104 (Sombrero galaxy) | -60° / 011° | 12:40.0 / -11:37 | Galaxy | SEDS, Img | 8 | 50.0 M |