Cigar Galaxy (M82) Position and Visibility Tonight
Where is Cigar Galaxy right now?
Twilight begins at 17:03 local time, and at that moment, M82 will appear at an altitude of 45 degrees toward the northwest.
M82 Visibility on March 07
M82 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| M82 is always above the horizon | ||
| Sunset | 16:05 | 40° |
| Civil sunset | 16:32 | 42° |
| Astrosession begin | 17:33 | 47° |
| M82 is always above the horizon | ||
Moon Rise, 87.4% illuminated  | 19:46 | 56° |
| M82 transit | 21:03 | 58° |
| Astrosession end | 03:03 | 35° |
| Civil sunrise | 04:04 | 30° |
| Sunrise | 04:31 | 28° |
| Moon Set | 06:19 | 21° |
Track M82 Position Throughout the Night
← Sat, 7 March 2026 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M82 - Cigar Galaxy
The Cigar Galaxy (M82) is a starburst galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774 and later cataloged by Charles Messier. M82 is undergoing an intense period of star formation and is part of the M81 Group of galaxies.
M82 spans about 37,000 light-years across and contains a massive population of young stars, gas, and dust. The galaxy is approximately 12 million light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 8.4, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.
M82 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 M82
| Object name | M82 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M82 coordinates | 9.93131, 69.67939 |
| Center coordinates | 9.93131, 69.67939 |
M82 Passage Through Night
Current position of M82
| Time | 16:38 |
| Latitude | 37.3541 |
| Longitude | -121.955 |
| M82 elevation | 43° |
| M82 Azimuth | -26° |
Annual motion of M82
M82 will be visible until August, 2, 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 | Sun, 8 March 2026 |
| Twighlight start | 17:33 |
| Twighlight end | 03:00 |
| Twighlight duration | 9h 27m |
| Rise | M82 is always up |
| Set | M82 is always up |
| Elevation at transit | 58° |
| Transit time | 20:59 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 09h 55m 52s", Dec: 69° 40' 45s |
| Magnitude | 8 |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
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 M82 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 M82
Coordinates & Visibility
| Right Ascension | 9.93131° |
| Declination | 69.67939° |
| Magnitude | 8.30 |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Elevation | 42.8° |
| Azimuth | -25.7° |
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.