|
Deep Sky Object, description, constellation, distance |
Rt. Asc. |
Declin. |
|
hr. min. |
O ' |
|
|
M 31: Great Andromeda Galaxy, And, 2.3m l.y. |
00 42.7 |
+41 16 |
|
Almach (g Andromedae): Yellow and greenish-blue double star, And, 260 l.y. |
02 03.2 |
+42 17 |
|
χ & h Persei: Double Cluster, Per, 7k l.y.; c Per, 8.1k l.y. |
02 20.0 |
+57 08 |
|
M 45: Pleiades open cluster - use finder or binoculars, Tau, 410 l.y. |
03 47.0 |
+24 07 |
|
M 1: Crab Nebula (supernova remnant), Tau, 6.3k l.y., July 5, 1054 AD |
05 34.5 |
+22 01 |
|
M 42: Great Orion Nebula, Ori, 1.5k l.y. |
05 35.4 |
-05 27 |
|
M 35: Open cluster, Gem, 2.8k l.y. |
06 08.9 |
+24 20 |
|
b Monocerotis: Triple star, Mon, 150-200 l.y., angular separation = 7.4" & 2.8" |
06 28.8 |
-07 01 |
|
M 41: Open Cluster, CMa, 2.3k l.y. |
06 46.0 |
-20 44 |
|
M 44: Beehive or Praesepe open cluster, best seen in finder, Cnc, 525 l.y. |
08 40.1 |
+19 59 |
|
M 67: Open cluster, very old, Cnc, 2.7k l.y. |
08 50.4 |
+11 49 |
|
M 81: Sb Galaxy, M 82 nearby, UMa, about 12m l.y. |
09 55.6 |
+69 04 |
|
M 82: Ip Exploding galaxy, companion of M 81, UMa, about 12m l.y. |
09 55.8 |
+69 41 |
|
Al Geiba (g Leonis): double star, Leo, sep 125 a.u., 90 l.y. |
10 19.4 |
+19 54 |
|
M 97: Owl Nebula (planetary), UMa, about 3k l.y. |
11 14.8 |
+55 01 |
|
M 66: Sb galaxy in a group of 3 galaxies, Leo, 29-38m l.y. |
11 20.2 |
+12 59 |
|
M 87: E1 galaxy-richest part of Virgo Cluster, Vir, about 42m l.y. |
12 30.8 |
+12 24 |
|
NGC 4565: Edge-on Sb galaxy, Com, about 20m l.y. |
12 36.3 |
+25 59 |
|
M 104: Sombrero Galaxy (edge-on Sa), Vir, about 40m l.y. |
12 40.0 |
- 11 37 |
|
Mizar and Alcor is an actual wide binary, Mizar is a telescopic Binary, 86 l.y. |
13 23.9 |
+54 55 |
|
M 3: Globular cluster, CVn, 35-40k l.y. |
13 42.2 |
+28 23 |
|
M 51: Whirlpool Galaxy (Face-on Sc), CVn, 35m l.y. |
13 29.9 |
+47 12 |
|
M 5: Globular cluster, Ser, 26-27k l.y. |
15 18.6 |
+02 05 |
|
M 13: Great Hercules globular cluster, Her, 21-25k l.y. |
16 41.7 |
+36 28 |
|
M 8: Lagoon Nebula (Emission Nebula) with cluster NGC 6530, Sgr, about 5K l.y. |
18 03.8 |
-24 23 |
|
M 16: Cluster and Eagle Nebula, Ser, 8k l.y. |
18 18.8 |
-13 47 |
|
M 17: Swan Nebula (a.k.a. Horseshoe and Omega), Sgr, 5.7k l.y. |
18 20.8 |
-16 11 |
|
M 22: Bright, large globular cluster, Sgr, 10.6k l.y. |
18 36.4 |
-23 54 |
|
M 11: A great open (galactic) star cluster, Sct, 5.5k l.y. |
18 50.0 |
-06 16 |
|
M 57: Ring Nebula (planetary), Lyr, 1500 l.y. |
18 53.6 |
+33 02 |
|
Coathanger (Collinder 399, Brocchi's Cluster) Binocular or Finder obj. Not a true cl. |
19 25.4 |
+20 11 |
|
Albireo (β Cygni) Blue and gold binary star (U of M star), 430 l.y. |
19 30.7 |
+27 58 |
|
M 27: Dumbbell nebula (planetary), Vul, 900 l.y. |
19 58.8 |
+22 43 |
|
NGC 7009: Saturn Nebula (planetary), Aqr, 3.9k l.y.? |
21 04.2 |
- 11 22 |
|
M 15: Compact globular cluster, Peg, 34-39k l.y. |
21 30.0 |
+12 10 |
|
M 2: Globular cluster, Aqr, 50k l.y. |
21 33.5 |
-00 49 |
|
M52: Rich open cluster, Cas,5.5k l.y. |
23 24.2 |
+61 35 |
Star parties usually run from 9 to 11 p.m. The exception is the Sleeping Bear Dunes October Star Party which runs from 8 to 10 p.m. With that exception the median time will be 10 p.m. For objects on the celestial equator (0º declination). Easily observable objects would be plus or minus 5 hours right ascension of the sidereal time. For objects with south or negative declination the hours of visibility are less, and if positive the hours of visibility are more.
|
Month |
Sidereal Time on the 1st |
Sidereal Time on the 15th |
|---|---|---|
|
January |
4 hr |
5 hr |
|
February |
6 hr |
7 hr |
|
March |
8 hr* |
8 hr |
|
April |
9 hr |
10 hr |
|
May |
11 hr |
12 hr |
|
June |
13 hr |
14 hr |
|
July |
15 hr |
16 hr |
|
August |
17 hr |
18 hr |
|
September |
19 hr |
20 hr |
|
October |
21 hr |
22 hr |
|
November |
23 hr** |
1 hr |
|
December |
2 hr |
3 hr |
* On or after the 2nd Sunday subtract 1 hour.
** On or after the 1st Sunday add 1 hour
An addition to this writeup will be added soon. That is the period of visibility the object has based on its declination.
If you have objects that you feel should be on this list, email the particulars to info@gtastro.org or bob@bjmoler.org. The coordinates listed for objects on the table are for the equinox of 2000.0. If you don't know the coordinates, the object designation or name by itself is OK.
Last revised: