M103 Observation Details
M103 Daily Motion
M103 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 59 degrees over time. You can find the best times to observe M103, when it reaches its highest elevation, in the annual motion section.M103 will be visible until April, 2, when it will move too close to the Sun. During this time, its proximity to the Sun will cause it to disappear from the night sky, making it unobservable for a while.
M103 Visibility Timetable on January 26
Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| M103 is always above the horizon | ||
| Moon Rise, 11.1% illuminated | 05:22 | 10° |
| Moon Set | 14:13 | 54° |
| M103 transit | 17:17 | 68° |
| Sunset | 17:23 | 68° |
| Civil sunset | 17:53 | 68° |
| Astrosession begin | 18:56 | 63° |
| M103 is always above the horizon | ||
| Astrosession end | 05:48 | 10° |
| Civil sunrise | 06:51 | 12° |
| Sunrise | 07:21 | 13° |
Track M103 Position Throughout the Night
← Sun, 26 January 2025 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M103 - Open Cluster
M103 is an open cluster located in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 and later cataloged by Charles Messier. The cluster is known for its bright stars and rich star field.
M103 spans about 15 light-years across and contains around 172 stars. The cluster is approximately 8,500 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 7.4, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.
M103 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 M103
| Object name | M103 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M103 coordinates | 1.55606, 60.658 |
| Center coordinates | 1.55606, 60.658 |
M103 Passage Through Night
Current position of M103
| Time | 09:43 |
| Latitude | 39.0469 |
| Longitude | -77.4903 |
| M103 elevation | 23° |
| M103 Azimuth | -29° |
Annual motion of M103
| Date | Mon, 27 January 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 18:52 |
| Twighlight end | 05:42 |
| Twighlight duration | 11h 50m |
| Rise | M103 is always up |
| Set | M103 is always up |
| Elevation at transit | 68° |
| Transit time | 17:13 |
| Equatorial coordinate | RA: 01h 33m 21s", Dec: 60° 39' 28s |
| Magnitude | 7 |
| Constellation | Cassiopeia |
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 M103 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.