† 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) | 65° / 077° | 00:42.7 / +41:16 | Galaxy | SEDS, Img | 3.4 | 2.9 M | |
M15 | 58° / 209° | 21:30.0 / +12:10 | GC | SEDS, Img | 6.2 | 33,600 | |
M27 (Dumbbell nebula) | 53° / 252° | 19:59.6 / +22:43 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 7.4 | 1,250 | |
M33 (Triangulum Galaxy) | 51° / 090° | 01:33.9 / +30:39 | Galaxy | SEDS, Img | 5.7 | 3.0 M | |
Albireo | 51° / 265° | 19:30.7 / +27:58 | Double | SEDS, Img | 3.0(r)/5.1(b) | 380 | telescope code: star 223, separation: 34 |
NGC 869 (Double Cluster) | 50° / 045° | 02:19.0 / +57:08 | OC | SEDS, Img | 5.3 | 7,000 | h and Chi Persei, NGC 869 and NGC 884 |
epsilonLyrae | 47° / 288° | 18:44.3 / 39:40 | Double | telescope code: star 334 | |||
M57 (Ring nebula) | 46° / 278° | 18:53.6 / +33:02 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 8.8 | 2,300 | |
Venus | 46° / 148° | 23:57.8 / 01:02 | planet | -4.6/-3.8 | 0.7 AU | telescope code: star 902 | |
Neptune | 44° / 145° | 00:06.0 / 00:44 | planet | 8.0/7.8 | 30 AU | telescope code: star 908 | |
Saturn | 42° / 150° | 23:55.1 / -2:42 | planet | 1.5/-0.5 | 9.5 AU | telescope code: star 906 | |
Mercury | 40° / 128° | 00:59.3 / 03:12 | planet | 5.7/-2.4 | 0.4 AU | telescope code: star 901 | |
M92 | 33° / 300° | 17:17.1 / +43:08 | GC | SEDS, Img | 6.4 | 26,700 | |
M13 | 24° / 298° | 16:41.7 / +36:28 | GC | SEDS, Img | 5.8 | 25,100 | good, granularity visible |
M45 (Pleiades) | 23° / 077° | 03:47.0 / +24:07 | OC | SEDS, Img | 1.6 | 440 | |
Uranus | 22° / 083° | 03:36.1 / 19:06 | planet | 5.9/5.3 | 19 AU | telescope code: star 907 | |
M11 | 21° / 240° | 18:51.1 / -06:17 | OC | ||||
M82 | 20° / 003° | 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 |
M81 (Bode's galaxy) | 19° / 003° | 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 |
Mizar | 12° / 336° | 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) |
M40 | 11° / 345° | 12:22.4 / +58:05 | Double | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 510 | |
Moon (phase: 0.107) | 11° / 062° | 05:09.3 / 28:03 | satellite | -2.5/-12.9 | 384 | telescope code: star 903 | |
(Hyades) | 11° / 078° | 04:27.0 / +16:00 | OC | SEDS, Img | 0.5 | 150 | near Aldebaran and NGC 1647. Nearest open cluster. |
M16 | 10° / 241° | 18:18.6 / -13:47 | OC | ||||
M51 (Whirlpool galaxy) | 6° / 331° | 13:29.9 / +47:12 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 37.0 M | faint, two galaxies may be visible |
M22 | 6° / 231° | 18:36.4 / -23.54 | GC | ||||
M97 (Owl nebula) | 5° / 353° | 11:14.8 / +55:01 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 9.9 | 2,600 | |
Jupiter | 5° / 064° | 05:22.1 / 22:54 | planet | -1.6/-2.9 | 5.2 AU | telescope code: star 905 | |
M1 (Crab nebula) | 2° / 063° | 05:34.5 / +22:01 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 6,300 | |
M20 | 1° / 238° | 18:02.3 / -23.02 | Nebula | ||||
M106 | 0° / 342° | 12:19.0 / +47:18 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 25.0 M | |
M63 | 0° / 330° | 13:15.8 / +42:02 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 8.6 | 37.0 M | about 5' from a star, can see it's flattened |
M8 | 0° / 236° | 18:03.8 / -24:23 | Nebula/OC | ||||
M94 | -2° / 334° | 12:50.9 / +41:07 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 8.2 | 14.5 M | good, compact and easy to see, but not much structure |
M3 | -8° / 318° | 13:42.2 / +28:23 | GC | SEDS, Img | 6.2 | 33,900 | |
M5 | -12° / 283° | 15:18.6 / +02:05 | GC | SEDS, Img | 5.6 | 24,500 | good, granularity visible |
(Eskimo nebula) | -15° / 043° | 07:29.2 / +20:55 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 10 | ||
M42 (Orion nebula) | -15° / 083° | 05:35.4 / -05:27 | Nebula | SEDS, Img | 4 | 1,600 | |
M4 | -18° / 250° | 16:23.6 / -26:32 | GC | SEDS, Img | 5.6 | 7,200 | |
M64 (Blackeye galaxy) | -19° / 324° | 12:56.7 / +21:41 | Spiral | SEDS, Img | 8.5 | 19.0 M | flattened, fairly faint |
M53 | -20° / 318° | 13:12.9 / +18:10 | GC | SEDS, Img | 7.6 | 58,000 | |
Mars | -22° / 029° | 08:33.0 / 20:52 | planet | 1.8/-2.9 | 1.5 AU | telescope code: star 904 | |
M44 (Beehive cluster) | -24° / 028° | 08:40.1 / +19:59 | OC | SEDS, Img | 3.7 | 577 | |
M86 | -30° / 327° | 12:26.2 / +12:57 | Lent. | SEDS, Img | 8.9 | 60.0 M | see M84 |
M87 | -30° / 325° | 12:30.8 / +12:24 | Ell. | SEDS, Img | 8.6 | 60.0 M | the picture shows the jet |
M84 | -30° / 327° | 12:25.1 / +12:53 | Lent. | SEDS, Img | 9.1 | 60.0 M | M84 and M86 visible in same field with fiddling |
M49 | -34° / 323° | 12:29.8 / +08:00 | Ell. | SEDS, Img | 8.4 | 60.0 M | E5 (with imagination), not very good |
M104 (Sombrero galaxy) | -49° / 306° | 12:40.0 / -11:37 | Galaxy | SEDS, Img | 8 | 50.0 M |