M26 Position and Visibility Tonight
Where is M26 right now?
Twilight begins at 03:23 local time, and at that moment, M26 will appear at an altitude of 26 degrees toward the southeast.
M26 Visibility on June 16
M26 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
Moon Rise, 0.2% illuminated  | 03:59 | 20° |
| M26 rise | 18:44 | |
| Civil sunset | 19:01 | 3° |
| Twighlight start | 19:40 | 11° |
| Moon Set | 19:48 | 12° |
| Astrosession begin | 20:23 | 19° |
| M26 transit | 00:14 | 43° |
| Astrosession end | 01:53 | 38° |
| Twighlight end | 02:36 | 33° |
| Civil sunrise | 03:15 | 27° |
| Sunrise | 03:48 | 22° |
| M26 set | 05:44 |
Track M26 Position Throughout the Night
← Tue, 16 June 2026 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M26 - Open Cluster
M26 is an open cluster located in the constellation Scutum. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. The cluster contains a rich population of stars of various ages and types.
M26 spans about 22 light-years across and contains around 90 stars. The cluster is approximately 5,000 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 8.0, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.
M26 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 M26
| Object name | M26 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M26 coordinates | 18.75518, -9.38361 |
| Center coordinates | 18.75518, -9.38361 |
M26 Passage Through Night
Current position of M26
| Time | 03:23 |
| Latitude | 37.3541 |
| Longitude | -121.955 |
| M26 elevation | 26° |
| M26 Azimuth | 126° |
Annual motion of M26
M26 will be visible until November, 16, 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.
| Date | Wed, 17 June 2026 |
| Twighlight start | 20:19 |
| Twighlight end | 01:47 |
| Twighlight duration | 5h 28m |
| Rise | 18:40 |
| Set | 05:40 |
| Elevation at transit | 43° |
| Transit time | 00:10 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 18h 45m 18s", Dec: -9° 23' 00s |
| Magnitude | 9 |
| Constellation | Scutum |
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 M26 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.
You can also view detailed visibility information in a dedicated table, including exact rise, transit, and set times for each date.
Astrometric & Physical Parameters of M26
Coordinates & Visibility
| Right Ascension | 18.75518° |
| Declination | -9.38361° |
| Magnitude | 8.87 |
| Constellation | Scutum |
| Elevation | 25.6° |
| Azimuth | 126.4° |
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.