M73 Observation Details
M73 Daily Motion
M73 will rise before twilight begins, at 18:33, and will reach 42° elevation by the time twilight commences at 21:25. It will reach its transit at 77° by 00:32 and gradually fade away as the night ends at 06:15, maintaining an elevation of around 4°.M73 will be visible until December, 23, 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.
M73 Visibility Timetable on August 12
M73 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| M73 rise | 18:33 | |
| Sunset | 19:07 | 8° |
| Civil sunset | 19:29 | 14° |
| Astrosession begin | 20:19 | 26° |
| Moon Rise, 85% illuminated | 21:53 | 49° |
| M73 transit | 00:32 | 77° |
| Astrosession end | 05:50 | 10° |
| M73 set | 06:31 | |
| Moon Set | 10:17 | -55° |
Track M73 Position Throughout the Night
← Tue, 12 August 2025 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
Shift the map to change the time and observe M73 changing position in the night sky.
M73 - Asterism
M73 is an asterism located in the constellation Aquarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. The asterism consists of four stars that form a small Y-shaped pattern.
M73 spans about 1.5 light-years across and contains no physical connection between its stars. The asterism is approximately 2,500 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 9.0, making it visible with a small telescope.
Finder Chart for M73
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| Object name | M73 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M73 coordinates | 20.98221, -12.6355 |
| Center coordinates | 20.98221, -12.6355 |
M73 Passage Through Night
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Current position of M73
| Time | 21:25 |
| Latitude | 0 |
| Longitude | 0 |
| M73 elevation | 42° |
| M73 Azimuth | -107° |
Here you can see the current position of the M73 on the map, as well as its positions for rise and set. This tool allows you to track the M73's movement throughout the night, providing you with accurate and up-to-date information.
Annual motion of M73
| Date | Wed, 13 August 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 20:16 |
| Twighlight end | 05:45 |
| Twighlight duration | 9h 29m |
| Rise | 18:29 |
| Set | 06:27 |
| Elevation at transit | 77° |
| Transit time | 00:28 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 20h 58m 55s", Dec: -12° 38' 07s |
| Magnitude | 9 |
| Constellation | Aquarius |
The graph illustrates the annual visibility pattern of a M73, 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 M73 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.
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 M73 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.