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Sky-Tonight.com / Nebulae / M50

M50 Observation Details

M50

M50 Daily Motion

M50 will not be observable tonight. It will reach its transit at 42° by 17:26 and set at 22:57. Throughout the night, from 05:13 to 05:15, it will be below the horizon. M50 will rise again after sunrise, at 11:52.
M50 will become visible in September, 17. After being too close to the Sun to observe, it will reappear in the night sky. Starting from September, 17, M50 can be seen again, providing a good opportunity for observation.

M50 Visibility Timetable on May 09

M50 Rise and Set Timetable

TimeElevation
Moon Rise, 87.4% illuminated17:0041°
M50 transit17:2642°
Sunset20:3225°
Civil sunset21:0420°
Astrosession begin22:217°
M50 set22:57
Astrosession end04:35-56°
Moon Set04:45-57°
M50 rise11:52

Track M50 Position Throughout the Night

← Fri, 9 May 2025 →

Elevation (degrees)
Time
Altitude
Azimuth
Shift the map to change the time and observe M50 changing position in the night sky.

M50 - Open Cluster

M50 is an open cluster located in the constellation Monoceros. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and independently by Charles Messier in 1772. The cluster contains a rich population of young, hot stars.

M50 spans about 20 light-years across and contains around 200 stars. The cluster is approximately 3,200 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 5.9, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.

M50 Image Gallery

DSS Blue

M50 photo taken with blue filter
These images are valuable for highlighting the presence of younger, hotter stars, which emit more light in the blue wavelengths.

DSS Red

M50 photo taken with red filter
These images are excellent for detecting older, cooler stars, as well as emission nebulae, which glow primarily in the red due to hydrogen alpha emissions.

DSS Near-Infrared

M50 photo taken with Near-Infrared filter
These images can penetrate dust clouds that obscure visible light, revealing structures and objects hidden within.

DSS Composite image

M50 color image
DSS Color images are composite images created by combining the blue, red, and often near-infrared images to produce a full-color representation.

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 M50

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Object nameM50
Field of view
Limiting magnitude
M50 coordinates7.04458, -8.36403
Center coordinates7.04458, -8.36403

M50 Passage Through Night

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Current position of M50

Time05:13
Latitude39.9625
Longitude-83.0061
M50 elevation-58°
M50 Azimuth5°
Here you can see the current position of the M50 on the map, as well as its positions for rise and set. This tool allows you to track the M50's movement throughout the night, providing you with accurate and up-to-date information.

Annual motion of M50

Time
DateSat, 10 May 2025
Twighlight start22:18
Twighlight end04:28
Twighlight duration6h 10m
Rise11:52
Set22:53
Elevation at transit42°
Transit time17:22
Equatorial coordinatesRA: 07h 02m 40s", Dec: -8° 21' 50s
Magnitude6
ConstellationMonoceros
The graph illustrates the annual visibility pattern of a M50, providing a comprehensive overview of its daily appearances and transit times throughout the year.
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 M50 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.

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.