M3 Observation Details
M3 Daily Motion
Tonight, observing M3 may prove challenging owing to its low elevation. It will reach its transit at by 10:59 and set before sunset at 18:35. Rising near twilight's end at 03:19, it will fade away by 04:23, peaking at just 11° above the horizon.M3 will become visible in November, 10. After being too close to the Sun to observe, it will reappear in the night sky. Starting from November, 10, M3 can be seen again, providing a good opportunity for observation.
M3 Visibility Timetable on October 19
M3 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| Moon Rise, 8.5% illuminated | 02:38 | -7° |
| M3 transit | 10:59 | 81° |
| Moon Set | 15:08 | 38° |
| Sunset | 16:24 | 23° |
| Civil sunset | 16:52 | 18° |
| Astrosession begin | 17:53 | 7° |
| M3 set | 18:35 | |
| M3 rise | 03:19 | |
| Astrosession end | 03:52 | 5° |
| Civil sunrise | 04:53 | 16° |
| Sunrise | 05:21 | 21° |
Track M3 Position Throughout the Night
← Sun, 19 October 2025 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
Where is M3 right now?
M3 is located in the constellation Canes Venatici, at right ascension 13h 42m 11s" and declination 28° 22' 31s. At the current time, it is below the horizon and not visible from your location.M3 - Globular Cluster
M3 is a globular cluster located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. M3 is one of the most outstanding globular clusters, notable for its large number of variable stars.
Spanning about 180 light-years across, M3 contains around 500,000 stars. It is approximately 33,900 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 6.2, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope. The cluster is best observed in the northern hemisphere during the spring months.
M3 Image Gallery
DSS Blue
DSS Red
DSS Near-Infrared
DSS Composite image
The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).
Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.
Finder Chart for M3
| Object name | M3 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M3 coordinates | 13.70312, 28.37544 |
| Center coordinates | 13.70312, 28.37544 |
M3 Passage Through Night
Current position of M3
| Time | 20:52 |
| Latitude | 37.3541 |
| Longitude | -121.955 |
| M3 elevation | -18° |
| M3 Azimuth | 29° |
Annual motion of M3
| Date | Mon, 20 October 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 17:51 |
| Twighlight end | 03:51 |
| Twighlight duration | 10h 60m |
| Rise | 03:19 |
| Set | 18:31 |
| Elevation at transit | 81° |
| Transit time | 10:55 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 13h 42m 11s", Dec: 28° 22' 31s |
| Magnitude | 6 |
| Constellation | Canes Venatici |
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M3 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.
Astrometric & Physical Parameters of M3
Coordinates & Visibility
| Right Ascension | 13.70312° |
| Declination | 28.37544° |
| Magnitude | 6.39 |
| Constellation | Canes Venatici |
| Elevation | -18° |
| Azimuth | 28.8° |
Data Credits
The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.
For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.