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: 2025-04-30 12:54:37 (GMT), MST=22h30m.

ObjectAlt / Az †RA / DecTypeLinksMagDist (ly)Notes
M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)65° / 077°00:42.7 / +41:16GalaxySEDS, Img3.42.9 M
M15 58° / 209°21:30.0 / +12:10GCSEDS, Img6.233,600
M27 (Dumbbell nebula)53° / 252°19:59.6 / +22:43NebulaSEDS, Img7.41,250
M33 (Triangulum Galaxy)51° / 090°01:33.9 / +30:39GalaxySEDS, Img5.73.0 M
Albireo 51° / 265°19:30.7 / +27:58DoubleSEDS, Img3.0(r)/5.1(b)380telescope code: star 223, separation: 34
NGC 869 (Double Cluster)50° / 045°02:19.0 / +57:08OCSEDS, Img5.37,000h and Chi Persei, NGC 869 and NGC 884
epsilonLyrae 47° / 288°18:44.3 / 39:40Double telescope code: star 334
M57 (Ring nebula)46° / 278°18:53.6 / +33:02NebulaSEDS, Img8.82,300
Venus 46° / 148°23:57.8 / 01:02planet -4.6/-3.80.7 AUtelescope code: star 902
Neptune 44° / 145°00:06.0 / 00:44planet 8.0/7.830 AUtelescope code: star 908
Saturn 42° / 150°23:55.1 / -2:42planet 1.5/-0.59.5 AUtelescope code: star 906
Mercury 40° / 128°00:59.3 / 03:12planet 5.7/-2.40.4 AUtelescope code: star 901
M92 33° / 300°17:17.1 / +43:08GCSEDS, Img6.426,700
M13 24° / 298°16:41.7 / +36:28GCSEDS, Img5.825,100good, granularity visible
M45 (Pleiades)23° / 077°03:47.0 / +24:07OCSEDS, Img1.6440
Uranus 22° / 083°03:36.1 / 19:06planet 5.9/5.319 AUtelescope code: star 907
M11 21° / 240°18:51.1 / -06:17OC
M82 20° / 003°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)19° / 003°09:55.6 / +69:04SpiralSEDS, Img6.912.0 Mit's fun to watch as the telescope moves between M81 and M82
Mizar 12° / 336°13:23.9 / +54:56DoubleSEDS, Img2.278telescope code: star 137, first known double star: 14 arcsec separation, 500 AU (12') from Alcor (4th mag)
M40 11° / 345°12:22.4 / +58:05DoubleSEDS, Img8.4510
Moon (phase: 0.107)11° / 062°05:09.3 / 28:03satellite -2.5/-12.9384telescope code: star 903
(Hyades)11° / 078°04:27.0 / +16:00OCSEDS, Img0.5150near Aldebaran and NGC 1647. Nearest open cluster.
M16 10° / 241°18:18.6 / -13:47OC
M51 (Whirlpool galaxy) 6° / 331°13:29.9 / +47:12SpiralSEDS, Img8.437.0 Mfaint, two galaxies may be visible
M22 6° / 231°18:36.4 / -23.54GC
M97 (Owl nebula) 5° / 353°11:14.8 / +55:01NebulaSEDS, Img9.92,600
Jupiter 5° / 064°05:22.1 / 22:54planet -1.6/-2.95.2 AUtelescope code: star 905
M1 (Crab nebula) 2° / 063°05:34.5 / +22:01NebulaSEDS, Img8.46,300
M20 1° / 238°18:02.3 / -23.02Nebula
M106 0° / 342°12:19.0 / +47:18 SpiralSEDS, Img8.425.0 M
M63 0° / 330°13:15.8 / +42:02SpiralSEDS, Img8.637.0 Mabout 5' from a star, can see it's flattened
M8 0° / 236°18:03.8 / -24:23Nebula/OC
M94 -2° / 334°12:50.9 / +41:07SpiralSEDS, Img8.214.5 Mgood, compact and easy to see, but not much structure
M3 -8° / 318°13:42.2 / +28:23GCSEDS, Img6.233,900
M5 -12° / 283°15:18.6 / +02:05GCSEDS, Img5.624,500good, granularity visible
(Eskimo nebula)-15° / 043°07:29.2 / +20:55 NebulaSEDS, Img10
M42 (Orion nebula)-15° / 083°05:35.4 / -05:27 NebulaSEDS, Img41,600
M4 -18° / 250°16:23.6 / -26:32GCSEDS, Img5.67,200
M64 (Blackeye galaxy)-19° / 324°12:56.7 / +21:41SpiralSEDS, Img8.519.0 Mflattened, fairly faint
M53 -20° / 318°13:12.9 / +18:10GCSEDS, Img7.658,000
Mars -22° / 029°08:33.0 / 20:52planet 1.8/-2.91.5 AUtelescope code: star 904
M44 (Beehive cluster)-24° / 028°08:40.1 / +19:59 OCSEDS, Img3.7577
M86 -30° / 327°12:26.2 / +12:57Lent.SEDS, Img8.960.0 Msee M84
M87 -30° / 325°12:30.8 / +12:24Ell.SEDS, Img8.660.0 Mthe picture shows the jet
M84 -30° / 327°12:25.1 / +12:53Lent.SEDS, Img9.160.0 MM84 and M86 visible in same field with fiddling
M49 -34° / 323°12:29.8 / +08:00Ell.SEDS, Img8.460.0 ME5 (with imagination), not very good
M104 (Sombrero galaxy)-49° / 306°12:40.0 / -11:37GalaxySEDS, Img850.0 M