Checkmark Nebula (M17) Observation Details
M17 Daily Motion
Tonight, observing M17 may prove challenging owing to its low elevation. It will reach its transit at by 10:47 and set before sunset at 15:50. Rising near twilight's end at 05:40, it will fade away by 06:45, peaking at just 11° above the horizon.M17 will become visible in March, 16. After being too close to the Sun to observe, it will reappear in the night sky. Starting from March, 16, M17 can be seen again, providing a good opportunity for observation.
M17 Visibility Timetable on January 22
Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| M17 transit | 10:47 | 34° |
| M17 set | 15:50 | |
| Astrosession begin | 19:13 | -38° |
| Moon Rise, 46.2% illuminated | 01:37 | -46° |
| M17 rise | 05:40 | |
| Astrosession end | 06:13 | 6° |
| Civil sunrise | 07:18 | 16° |
| Sunrise | 07:49 | 21° |
| Moon Set | 11:50 | 32° |
Track M17 Position Throughout the Night
← Wed, 22 January 2025 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M17 - Omega Nebula
The Omega Nebula (M17), also known as the Swan Nebula, is an emission nebula located in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745 and later included in Messier's catalog in 1764. The nebula is a region of active star formation.
M17 spans about 15 light-years across and is illuminated by a group of young, massive stars. The nebula is approximately 5,000 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 6.0, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.
M17 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 M17
| Object name | M17 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M17 coordinates | 18.34642, -16.17153 |
| Center coordinates | 18.34642, -16.17153 |
M17 Passage Through Night
Current position of M17
| Time | 20:21 |
| Latitude | 39.9625 |
| Longitude | -83.0061 |
| M17 elevation | -51° |
| M17 Azimuth | 63° |
Annual motion of M17
| Date | Thu, 23 January 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 19:14 |
| Twighlight end | 06:11 |
| Twighlight duration | 11h 58m |
| Rise | 05:40 |
| Set | 15:46 |
| Elevation at transit | 34° |
| Transit time | 10:43 |
| Equatorial coordinate | RA: 18h 20m 47s", Dec: -16° 10' 17s |
| Magnitude | 7 |
| Constellation | Sagittarius |
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 M17 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.