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Sky-Tonight.com / Nebulae / M38

M38 Observation Details

M38

M38 Daily Motion

M38 will reach transit at 19:51. By the time twilight starts at 03:40 it will be at an elevation of 5° degrees and will set at 04:18, before twilight ends.
M38 will be visible until May, 3, 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.

M38 Visibility Timetable on February 22

M38 Rise and Set Timetable

TimeElevation
Moon Rise, 44.1% illuminated03:356°
Moon Set12:187°
Sunset18:1370°
Civil sunset18:4176°
Astrosession begin19:4486°
M38 transit19:5186°
M38 set04:18
Astrosession end05:44-9°
M38 rise11:19

Track M38 Position Throughout the Night

← Sat, 22 February 2025 →

Elevation (degrees)
Time
Altitude
Azimuth
Shift the map to change the time and observe M38 changing position in the night sky.

M38 - Open Cluster

M38 is an open cluster located in the constellation Auriga. It was discovered by Giovanni Battista Hodierna before 1654 and independently by Charles Messier in 1764. The cluster contains a mix of young, hot stars and older stars.

M38 spans about 25 light-years across and contains around 100 stars. The cluster is approximately 4,200 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 7.4, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.

M38 Image Gallery

DSS Blue

M38 photo taken with blue filter
These images are valuable for highlighting the presence of younger, hotter stars, which emit more light in the blue wavelengths.

DSS Red

M38 photo taken with red filter
These images are excellent for detecting older, cooler stars, as well as emission nebulae, which glow primarily in the red due to hydrogen alpha emissions.

DSS Near-Infrared

M38 photo taken with Near-Infrared filter
These images can penetrate dust clouds that obscure visible light, revealing structures and objects hidden within.

DSS Composite image

M38 color image
DSS Color images are composite images created by combining the blue, red, and often near-infrared images to produce a full-color representation.

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 M38

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Object nameM38
Field of view
Limiting magnitude
M38 coordinates5.47847, 35.85492
Center coordinates5.47847, 35.85492

M38 Passage Through Night

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Current position of M38

Time03:40
Latitude39.9581
Longitude-82.8068
M38 elevation5°
M38 Azimuth46°
Here you can see the current position of the M38 on the map, as well as its positions for rise and set. This tool allows you to track the M38's movement throughout the night, providing you with accurate and up-to-date information.

Annual motion of M38

Time
DateSun, 23 February 2025
Twighlight start19:41
Twighlight end05:37
Twighlight duration10h 56m
Rise11:19
Set04:14
Elevation at transit86°
Transit time19:47
Equatorial coordinatesRA: 05h 28m 42s", Dec: 35° 51' 17s
Magnitude6
ConstellationAuriga
The graph illustrates the annual visibility pattern of a M38, providing a comprehensive overview of its daily appearances and transit times throughout the year.
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 M38 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.