M56 Observation Details
M56 Daily Motion
M56 will be visible until December, 27, 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.
M56 Visibility Timetable on February 14
M56 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
Moon Rise, 15.6% illuminated  | 02:46 | 28° |
| M56 transit | 07:49 | 83° |
| Moon Set | 11:59 | 38° |
| M56 set | 15:33 | |
| Astrosession begin | 17:13 | -13° |
| M56 rise | 00:01 | |
| Astrosession end | 03:30 | 37° |
| Civil sunrise | 04:31 | 49° |
| Sunrise | 04:59 | 55° |
Track M56 Position Throughout the Night
← Sat, 14 February 2026 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
Where is M56 right now?
M56 is located in the constellation Lyra, at right ascension 19h 16m 35s" and declination 30° 11' 04s. At the current time, it is above the horizon at an altitude of 38 degrees toward the west-northwest from your location, with an apparent magnitude of 8.40.M56 - Globular Cluster
M56 is a globular cluster located in the constellation Lyra. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1779. The cluster contains a rich population of old stars.
M56 spans about 84 light-years across and contains around 230,000 stars. The cluster is approximately 32,900 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 8.3, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.
M56 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 M56
| Object name | M56 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M56 coordinates | 19.27653, 30.1845 |
| Center coordinates | 19.27653, 30.1845 |
M56 Passage Through Night
Current position of M56
| Time | 03:35 |
| Latitude | 37.3541 |
| Longitude | -121.955 |
| M56 elevation | 38° |
| M56 Azimuth | -78° |
Annual motion of M56
| Date | Sun, 15 February 2026 |
| Twighlight start | 17:12 |
| Twighlight end | 03:25 |
| Twighlight duration | 10h 13m |
| Rise | 23:57 |
| Set | 15:25 |
| Elevation at transit | 83° |
| Transit time | 07:41 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 19h 16m 35s", Dec: 30° 11' 04s |
| Magnitude | 8 |
| Constellation | Lyra |
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 M56 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 M56
Coordinates & Visibility
| Right Ascension | 19.27653° |
| Declination | 30.1845° |
| Magnitude | 8.40 |
| Constellation | Lyra |
| Elevation | 38.3° |
| Azimuth | -78.3° |
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.