M102 Observation Details
M102 Daily Motion
M102 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 68 degrees over time. You can find the best times to observe M102, when it reaches its highest elevation, in the annual motion section.M102 will be visible throughout the entire year. However, it will change its position significantly, moving 68 degrees over time. You can find the best times to observe M102, when it reaches its highest elevation, in the annual motion section.
M102 Visibility Timetable on May 09
M102 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| M102 is always above the horizon | ||
| Moon Rise, 87.4% illuminated | 17:00 | 16° |
| Sunset | 20:32 | 40° |
| Civil sunset | 21:04 | 45° |
| Astrosession begin | 22:21 | 56° |
| M102 is always above the horizon | ||
| M102 transit | 01:29 | 74° |
| Astrosession end | 04:35 | 56° |
| Moon Set | 04:45 | 54° |
| Civil sunrise | 05:52 | 45° |
| Sunrise | 06:23 | 41° |
Track M102 Position Throughout the Night
← Fri, 9 May 2025 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M102 - Spindle Galaxy
The Spindle Galaxy (M102) is a lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Draco. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 and later cataloged by Charles Messier. M102 is known for its edge-on orientation and bright central bulge.
M102 spans about 85,000 light-years across and contains a massive population of stars, gas, and dust. The galaxy is approximately 50 million light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 10.7, making it visible with a small telescope.
M102 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 M102
| Object name | M102 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M102 coordinates | 15.10819, 55.76322 |
| Center coordinates | 15.10819, 55.76322 |
M102 Passage Through Night
Current position of M102
| Time | 02:17 |
| Latitude | 39.9625 |
| Longitude | -83.0061 |
| M102 elevation | 72° |
| M102 Azimuth | 23° |
Annual motion of M102
| Date | Sat, 10 May 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 22:18 |
| Twighlight end | 04:28 |
| Twighlight duration | 6h 10m |
| Rise | M102 is always up |
| Set | M102 is always up |
| Elevation at transit | 74° |
| Transit time | 01:25 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 15h 06m 29s", Dec: 55° 45' 47s |
| Magnitude | 10 |
| Constellation | Draco |
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 M102 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.