Messier Objects Tonight
Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects cataloged by the French astronomer Charles Messier in the 18th century. These objects include a variety of celestial phenomena such as star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. The catalog was created to help astronomers distinguish between permanent and transient objects in the night sky. Some of the most famous Messier objects include the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Orion Nebula (M42), and the Pleiades star cluster (M45). The Messier Catalog remains a popular reference for amateur and professional astronomers alike.Sky Map
Celectial bearing and elevation at 04:03
This interactive skymap shows the positions of the brightest celestial objects tonight from your location. You can explore the sky by moving the map horizontally to see how stars, planets, and other key objects shift as the night progresses. It’s designed to help you quickly get oriented and find the most noticeable sights in the sky.
M39
Open Cluster
An open star cluster containing approximately 30 stars, located approximately 800 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.
M34
Open Cluster
An open star cluster containing over 400 stars, located approximately 1,400 light-years away in the constellation Perseus.
M37
Open Cluster
A rich open star cluster containing over 500 stars, located approximately 4,500 light-years away in the constellation Auriga.
M36
Open Cluster
An open star cluster containing over 60 stars, visible to the naked eye under dark skies, located approximately 4,100 light-years away in the constellation Auriga.
M71
Globular Cluster
A loose globular cluster containing tens of thousands of stars, located approximately 12,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagitta.
M2
Globular Cluster
A globular cluster containing hundreds of thousands of stars, located approximately 55,000 light-years away.
M15
Globular Cluster
A dense globular cluster containing hundreds of thousands of stars, located in the constellation Pegasus, approximately 33,600 light-years away.
M38
Open Cluster
An open star cluster containing over 100 stars, located approximately 4,200 light-years away in the constellation Auriga.
M29
Open Cluster
An open star cluster containing over 400 stars, part of the Cygnus OB1 association, located approximately 4,000 light-years away.
M52
Open Cluster
An open star cluster containing over 200 stars, located approximately 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.
M103
Open Cluster
M103 is an open cluster with apparent magnitude 7.40 in the constellation Cassiopeia, spanning approximately 4.5 arcseconds in the sky.
Dumbbell Nebula (M27)
Planetary Nebula
The Dumbbell Nebula, a planetary nebula characterized by its hourglass shape, located approximately 1,360 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula.
M32
Galaxy
A satellite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy, containing approximately 3 billion stars, located approximately 2.537 million light-years away.
Crab Nebula (M1)
Supernova remnant
The Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant, known for its filaments of glowing gas and energetic pulsar at its core.
M77
Galaxy
A barred spiral galaxy containing billions of stars, located approximately 47 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus.
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way, containing over a trillion stars, located approximately 2.537 million light-years away.
M74
Galaxy
A spiral galaxy containing billions of stars, located approximately 32 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces.
Triangulum Galaxy (M33)
Galaxy
The Triangulum Galaxy, a spiral galaxy containing approximately 40 billion stars, located approximately 3 million light-years away.
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.