M101 Observation Details
M101 Daily Motion
M101 is circumpolar, never setting below the horizon and always visible in the night sky from your location. However, it will change its position significantly, moving 71 degrees over time. You can find the best times to observe M101, when it reaches its highest elevation, in the annual motion section.M101 will be visible throughout the entire year. However, it will change its position significantly, moving 71 degrees over time. You can find the best times to observe M101, when it reaches its highest elevation, in the annual motion section.
M101 Visibility Timetable on May 12
M101 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| M101 is always above the horizon | ||
| Moon Rise, 99.4% illuminated | 20:02 | 46° |
| Sunset | 20:35 | 51° |
| Civil sunset | 21:07 | 56° |
| Astrosession begin | 22:25 | 67° |
| M101 is always above the horizon | ||
| M101 transit | 00:14 | 76° |
| Astrosession end | 04:30 | 46° |
| Civil sunrise | 05:49 | 35° |
| Moon Set | 05:54 | 34° |
| Sunrise | 06:20 | 30° |
Track M101 Position Throughout the Night
← Mon, 12 May 2025 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy
The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 and later cataloged by Charles Messier. M101 is known for its large size, well-defined spiral arms, and high surface brightness.
M101 spans about 170,000 light-years across and contains a massive population of stars, gas, and dust. The galaxy is approximately 21 million light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 7.9, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.
M101 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 M101
| Object name | M101 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M101 coordinates | 14.05348, 54.34894 |
| Center coordinates | 14.05348, 54.34894 |
M101 Passage Through Night
Current position of M101
| Time | 23:01 |
| Latitude | 39.9625 |
| Longitude | -83.0061 |
| M101 elevation | 71° |
| M101 Azimuth | -34° |
Annual motion of M101
| Date | Tue, 13 May 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 22:26 |
| Twighlight end | 04:28 |
| Twighlight duration | 6h 1m |
| Rise | M101 is always up |
| Set | M101 is always up |
| Elevation at transit | 76° |
| Transit time | 00:10 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 14h 03m 12s", Dec: 54° 20' 56s |
| Magnitude | 8 |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
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 M101 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.