Measured in arcminutes. The full moon is about 30. Anything over 60 wants a camera lens rather than a telescope, and people routinely buy far too much focal length for the objects they actually want.
Target atlas
Pick the object.
Then pick the lens.
Most target lists tell you an object is beautiful. This one tells you how big it is, how bright it is, what month it sits highest, whether a filter helps, and roughly what focal length frames it properly.
Read the numbers first
Four fields decide
your whole session.
Lower numbers are brighter, and the scale is logarithmic. Be careful: a large faint galaxy with a bright integrated magnitude can still be much harder than a small planetary nebula, because that light is spread thin.
Your latitude minus the object’s declination tells you roughly how far from overhead it gets. If the answer is more than about 65 degrees, it never rises usefully from where you live.
Emission nebulae glow in specific wavelengths, so a dual-band filter cuts light pollution without cutting the subject. Galaxies, clusters and reflection nebulae emit across the spectrum, so filters just cost you light.
73 targets
Ordered by when they sit highest at midnightNGC 2359 · Sharpless 298
Thor's Helmet
Small and faint but full of oxygen-III structure. A good excuse to build a proper narrowband ratio.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Canis Major
- Magnitude
- 11.5
- Apparent size
- 8'
- Right ascension
- 07h 18m 30s
- Declination
- -13° 11' 60"
- Highest at midnight
- January
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M44 · Praesepe
Beehive Cluster
Naked-eye easy and very wide. A short telephoto and a handful of minutes is genuinely enough.
- Type
- Open cluster
- Constellation
- Cancer
- Magnitude
- 3.7
- Apparent size
- 95'
- Right ascension
- 08h 40m 24s
- Declination
- +19° 58' 59"
- Highest at midnight
- January
- Framing focal
- 600mm
M81 · NGC 3031
Bode's Galaxy
Pairs with M82 in the same field at around 500mm. Circumpolar from mid-northern latitudes, so you can shoot it most of the year.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Apparent size
- 26.9' × 14.1'
- Right ascension
- 09h 55m 33s
- Declination
- +69° 03' 54"
- Highest at midnight
- February
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M82 · NGC 3034
Cigar Galaxy
The red hydrogen outflow needs an H-alpha layer to show properly, which surprises people who only shoot broadband galaxies.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Magnitude
- 8.4
- Apparent size
- 11.2' × 4.3'
- Right ascension
- 09h 55m 52s
- Declination
- +69° 40' 48"
- Highest at midnight
- February
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 3372 · Caldwell 92
Carina Nebula
Brighter and larger than Orion, and only available from southern skies. A genuinely different scale of object.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Carina
- Magnitude
- 1.0
- Apparent size
- 120'
- Right ascension
- 10h 45m 06s
- Declination
- -59° 52' 01"
- Highest at midnight
- March
- Framing focal
- 500mm
M97 · NGC 3587
Owl Nebula
Frames nicely with the galaxy M108 at around 700mm, giving you two object types in one sequence.
- Type
- Planetary nebula
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Magnitude
- 9.9
- Apparent size
- 3.4' × 3.3'
- Right ascension
- 11h 14m 48s
- Declination
- +55° 01' 08"
- Highest at midnight
- March
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M65 / M66 / NGC 3628
Leo Triplet
Three galaxies in about one degree, so a 700mm to 1000mm frame holds the group. NGC 3628's tidal tail is the hard part.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Leo
- Magnitude
- 8.9
- Apparent size
- 50' × 30'
- Right ascension
- 11h 20m 15s
- Declination
- +12° 59' 24"
- Highest at midnight
- March
- Framing focal
- 1200mm
M106 · NGC 4258
Messier 106
Underrated and full of faint outer structure. The surrounding field also carries small companion galaxies worth keeping in frame.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Canes Venatici
- Magnitude
- 8.4
- Apparent size
- 18.6' × 7.2'
- Right ascension
- 12h 18m 58s
- Declination
- +47° 18' 14"
- Highest at midnight
- March
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 4565 · Caldwell 38
Needle Galaxy
Very thin and very high in spring. Any tilt or coma in the corners will be obvious next to that straight edge.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Coma Berenices
- Magnitude
- 9.6
- Apparent size
- 15.9' × 1.9'
- Right ascension
- 12h 36m 21s
- Declination
- +25° 59' 17"
- Highest at midnight
- March
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M104 · NGC 4594
Sombrero Galaxy
Small, bright and low from northern sites. It is a resolution target, so pick your best-seeing night rather than your longest one.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Magnitude
- 8.0
- Apparent size
- 8.7' × 3.5'
- Right ascension
- 12h 39m 59s
- Declination
- -11° 37' 23"
- Highest at midnight
- April
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M64 · NGC 4826
Black Eye Galaxy
The dust lane is the whole image. Protect it during noise reduction or it smears into a grey smudge.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Coma Berenices
- Magnitude
- 8.5
- Apparent size
- 10.7' × 5.1'
- Right ascension
- 12h 56m 44s
- Declination
- +21° 40' 59"
- Highest at midnight
- April
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M63 · NGC 5055
Sunflower Galaxy
Flocculent arms mean there is no obvious sharp structure to chase. Resist heavy local contrast; it turns to mush quickly.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Canes Venatici
- Magnitude
- 8.6
- Apparent size
- 12.6' × 7.2'
- Right ascension
- 13h 15m 49s
- Declination
- +42° 01' 44"
- Highest at midnight
- April
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 5128 · Caldwell 77
Centaurus A
A southern showpiece. The dust lane holds enormous detail and the faint outer halo takes real integration.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Apparent size
- 25.7' × 20'
- Right ascension
- 13h 25m 28s
- Declination
- -43° 01' 08"
- Highest at midnight
- April
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 5139 · Caldwell 80
Omega Centauri
The largest globular cluster in the galaxy. Visible low from the southern United States in late spring.
- Type
- Globular cluster
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Apparent size
- 36'
- Right ascension
- 13h 26m 46s
- Declination
- -47° 28' 44"
- Highest at midnight
- April
- Framing focal
- 1600mm
M51 · NGC 5194
Whirlpool Galaxy
The classic first guided-rig galaxy. Small, high in spring, and completely dependent on tracking quality rather than exposure length.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Canes Venatici
- Magnitude
- 8.4
- Apparent size
- 11.2' × 6.9'
- Right ascension
- 13h 29m 53s
- Declination
- +47° 11' 42"
- Highest at midnight
- April
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M83 · NGC 5236
Southern Pinwheel
One of the best southern galaxies and a fair target from the southern United States when it is near transit.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Hydra
- Magnitude
- 7.6
- Apparent size
- 12.9' × 11.5'
- Right ascension
- 13h 37m 01s
- Declination
- -29° 51' 58"
- Highest at midnight
- April
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M3 · NGC 5272
Messier 3
High in spring from the north and an excellent test of whether your stars are actually round across the whole frame.
- Type
- Globular cluster
- Constellation
- Canes Venatici
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Apparent size
- 18'
- Right ascension
- 13h 42m 12s
- Declination
- +28° 22' 37"
- Highest at midnight
- April
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M101 · NGC 5457
Pinwheel Galaxy
Large but faint and flat. Sky gradients look exactly like spiral arms here, so background modelling has to be done carefully.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Magnitude
- 7.9
- Apparent size
- 28.8' × 26.9'
- Right ascension
- 14h 03m 13s
- Declination
- +54° 20' 56"
- Highest at midnight
- April
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M5 · NGC 5904
Messier 5
Arguably prettier than M13 and better placed for the southern half of the northern hemisphere.
- Type
- Globular cluster
- Constellation
- Serpens
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- Apparent size
- 23'
- Right ascension
- 15h 18m 33s
- Declination
- +02° 04' 52"
- Highest at midnight
- May
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M4 · NGC 6121
Messier 4
Loose and easy to resolve. Sits right beside Antares, so it lands inside a wide Rho Ophiuchi frame for free.
- Type
- Globular cluster
- Constellation
- Scorpius
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- Apparent size
- 26'
- Right ascension
- 16h 23m 35s
- Declination
- -26° 31' 34"
- Highest at midnight
- May
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
IC 4604
Rho Ophiuchi Complex
Blue, gold and rust in the same frame, and entirely broadband. Needs a dark sky and a very careful colour workflow.
- Type
- Reflection nebula
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Apparent size
- 240'
- Right ascension
- 16h 25m 35s
- Declination
- -23° 26' 60"
- Highest at midnight
- May
- Framing focal
- 250mm
M13 · NGC 6205
Great Hercules Cluster
Globulars are a focus and sampling test. If the outer stars are mush, the problem is seeing, tilt or focus, not integration.
- Type
- Globular cluster
- Constellation
- Hercules
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Apparent size
- 20'
- Right ascension
- 16h 41m 41s
- Declination
- +36° 27' 36"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M92 · NGC 6341
Messier 92
Overshadowed by M13 in the same constellation and a good target when M13 is behind a tree.
- Type
- Globular cluster
- Constellation
- Hercules
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- Apparent size
- 14'
- Right ascension
- 17h 17m 07s
- Declination
- +43° 08' 10"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 6334
Cat's Paw Nebula
Very low from mid-northern latitudes. Southern shooters get it high and clean.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Scorpius
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- Apparent size
- 40'
- Right ascension
- 17h 20m 50s
- Declination
- -36° 06' 00"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 1600mm
Sagittarius A region
Milky Way Core
Not a catalog object but the target most nightscape photographers actually plan around. Peak altitude from your latitude decides how good your season is.
- Type
- Star cloud
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Magnitude
- Extended
- Apparent size
- 1200' × 600'
- Right ascension
- 17h 45m 40s
- Declination
- -29° 00' 29"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 50mm
M7 · NGC 6475
Ptolemy Cluster
Very low for northern shooters and spectacular from the south. Wide, bright and quick.
- Type
- Open cluster
- Constellation
- Scorpius
- Magnitude
- 3.3
- Apparent size
- 80'
- Right ascension
- 17h 53m 51s
- Declination
- -34° 47' 35"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 750mm
M20 · NGC 6514
Trifid Nebula
Emission and reflection in one frame, so a hard narrowband-only treatment throws away the blue half of the story.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Apparent size
- 28'
- Right ascension
- 18h 02m 23s
- Declination
- -23° 01' 48"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M8 · NGC 6523
Lagoon Nebula
Bright enough for short subs and close enough to M20 that a 200mm to 400mm frame catches both.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Apparent size
- 90' × 40'
- Right ascension
- 18h 03m 37s
- Declination
- -24° 23' 13"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 750mm
M24 · IC 4715
Small Sagittarius Star Cloud
Not a cluster but a window through galactic dust. Great for showing scale in a Milky Way panorama.
- Type
- Star cloud
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Magnitude
- 2.5
- Apparent size
- 90' × 45'
- Right ascension
- 18h 17m 00s
- Declination
- -18° 33' 00"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 750mm
M16 · NGC 6611
Eagle Nebula
The Pillars are small. If you want them resolved you need long focal length and steady seeing, not more hours.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Serpens
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- Apparent size
- 35' × 28'
- Right ascension
- 18h 18m 48s
- Declination
- -13° 49' 01"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 1600mm
M17 · Swan Nebula
Omega Nebula
Very bright in hydrogen-alpha and one of the few deep-sky targets that survives a mediocre suburban sky.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Apparent size
- 46' × 37'
- Right ascension
- 18h 20m 26s
- Declination
- -16° 10' 37"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 1200mm
M22 · NGC 6656
Great Sagittarius Cluster
Brighter than M13 but sits low for northern shooters, so atmospheric dispersion shows up fast at long focal lengths.
- Type
- Globular cluster
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Apparent size
- 32'
- Right ascension
- 18h 36m 24s
- Declination
- -23° 54' 18"
- Highest at midnight
- June
- Framing focal
- 2000mm
M11 · NGC 6705
Wild Duck Cluster
Dense enough to look almost globular. Sits in a rich Milky Way field, so the background stars are half the picture.
- Type
- Open cluster
- Constellation
- Scutum
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Apparent size
- 14'
- Right ascension
- 18h 51m 06s
- Declination
- -06° 16' 01"
- Highest at midnight
- July
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M57 · NGC 6720
Ring Nebula
Tiny. Under about 1000mm it is a coloured dot, so this is one of the few targets where more focal length genuinely helps.
- Type
- Planetary nebula
- Constellation
- Lyra
- Magnitude
- 8.8
- Apparent size
- 1.4' × 1'
- Right ascension
- 18h 53m 35s
- Declination
- +33° 01' 44"
- Highest at midnight
- July
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M27 · NGC 6853
Dumbbell Nebula
Bright core, faint outer halo. Two exposure lengths solve it far better than one compromise setting.
- Type
- Planetary nebula
- Constellation
- Vulpecula
- Magnitude
- 7.4
- Apparent size
- 8' × 5.6'
- Right ascension
- 19h 59m 36s
- Declination
- +22° 43' 16"
- Highest at midnight
- July
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 6888 · Caldwell 27
Crescent Nebula
The faint oxygen shell around it needs many hours through a narrow filter. Broadband barely registers it.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cygnus
- Magnitude
- 7.4
- Apparent size
- 18' × 12'
- Right ascension
- 20h 12m 07s
- Declination
- +38° 21' 18"
- Highest at midnight
- July
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
IC 5070
Pelican Nebula
Shares the field with NGC 7000. The dark ridge between them is the compositional payoff.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cygnus
- Magnitude
- 8.0
- Apparent size
- 60' × 50'
- Right ascension
- 20h 50m 48s
- Declination
- +44° 21' 36"
- Highest at midnight
- August
- Framing focal
- 900mm
NGC 6960 / 6992 · Cygnus Loop
Veil Nebula
The full loop spans about three degrees. Oxygen-III does most of the work here, more than hydrogen-alpha.
- Type
- Supernova remnant
- Constellation
- Cygnus
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Apparent size
- 180'
- Right ascension
- 20h 51m 00s
- Declination
- +30° 41' 60"
- Highest at midnight
- August
- Framing focal
- 300mm
NGC 7000 · Caldwell 20
North America Nebula
Huge. A 135mm lens frames it with the Pelican, and a dual-band filter turns a suburban sky into a usable one.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cygnus
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Apparent size
- 120' × 100'
- Right ascension
- 20h 58m 47s
- Declination
- +44° 31' 48"
- Highest at midnight
- August
- Framing focal
- 500mm
NGC 7023 · Caldwell 4
Iris Nebula
Blue reflection surrounded by brown dust. Broadband only, and the surrounding dust needs far more time than the bright centre.
- Type
- Reflection nebula
- Constellation
- Cepheus
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Apparent size
- 18'
- Right ascension
- 21h 01m 36s
- Declination
- +68° 10' 01"
- Highest at midnight
- August
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M15 · NGC 7078
Great Pegasus Cluster
Extremely dense core that clips before you expect it. Short subs protect the middle.
- Type
- Globular cluster
- Constellation
- Pegasus
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Apparent size
- 18'
- Right ascension
- 21h 29m 58s
- Declination
- +12° 10' 01"
- Highest at midnight
- August
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
IC 1396
Elephant's Trunk Nebula
The whole complex is enormous; the trunk itself is a small dark column inside it. Decide which one you are shooting before you pick focal length.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cepheus
- Magnitude
- 3.5
- Apparent size
- 170'
- Right ascension
- 21h 38m 60s
- Declination
- +57° 30' 00"
- Highest at midnight
- August
- Framing focal
- 400mm
NGC 7293 · Caldwell 63
Helix Nebula
Large for a planetary and low from the north. It sits in the sky for a short window, so plan around transit.
- Type
- Planetary nebula
- Constellation
- Aquarius
- Magnitude
- 7.6
- Apparent size
- 25'
- Right ascension
- 22h 29m 39s
- Declination
- -20° 50' 13"
- Highest at midnight
- August
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 7331 · Caldwell 30
NGC 7331
Stephan's Quintet sits half a degree away. Frame for both and you get a much more interesting picture.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Pegasus
- Magnitude
- 9.5
- Apparent size
- 10.5' × 3.7'
- Right ascension
- 22h 37m 04s
- Declination
- +34° 24' 58"
- Highest at midnight
- August
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 104 · Caldwell 106
47 Tucanae
The second brightest globular in the sky and, for most observers, the best. Southern hemisphere only.
- Type
- Globular cluster
- Constellation
- Tucana
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Apparent size
- 50'
- Right ascension
- 00h 24m 06s
- Declination
- -72° 04' 52"
- Highest at midnight
- September
- Framing focal
- 1200mm
NGC 7380 · Sharpless 142
Wizard Nebula
Cluster plus nebula, high in the autumn sky, and forgiving of moderate light pollution with a dual-band filter.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cepheus
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Apparent size
- 25'
- Right ascension
- 22h 47m 21s
- Declination
- +58° 06' 25"
- Highest at midnight
- September
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
Sh2-155 · Caldwell 9
Cave Nebula
Mixed emission, reflection and dark dust. Pure narrowband loses the reflection component entirely.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cepheus
- Magnitude
- 7.7
- Apparent size
- 50' × 30'
- Right ascension
- 22h 56m 48s
- Declination
- +62° 37' 01"
- Highest at midnight
- September
- Framing focal
- 1200mm
NGC 7635 · Caldwell 11
Bubble Nebula
Small, faint and sitting next to the bright cluster M52, which makes a two-object frame at around 700mm.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Magnitude
- 10.0
- Apparent size
- 15' × 8'
- Right ascension
- 23h 20m 45s
- Declination
- +61° 12' 00"
- Highest at midnight
- September
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M31 · NGC 224
Andromeda Galaxy
Big, bright and forgiving. A 135mm lens on a tracker already frames it well, and the dust lanes reward more integration rather than more focal length.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Andromeda
- Magnitude
- 3.4
- Apparent size
- 178' × 63'
- Right ascension
- 00h 42m 44s
- Declination
- +41° 16' 08"
- Highest at midnight
- October
- Framing focal
- 300mm
NGC 253 · Caldwell 65
Sculptor Galaxy
Bright, dusty and low from northern latitudes. Worth chasing on a transparent night near transit.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Sculptor
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Apparent size
- 27.5' × 6.8'
- Right ascension
- 00h 47m 33s
- Declination
- -25° 17' 17"
- Highest at midnight
- October
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
SMC
Small Magellanic Cloud
The globular cluster 47 Tucanae sits right beside it and is one of the finest in the sky.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Tucana
- Magnitude
- 2.7
- Apparent size
- 319' × 205'
- Right ascension
- 00h 52m 45s
- Declination
- -72° 47' 60"
- Highest at midnight
- October
- Framing focal
- 200mm
NGC 281 · Sharpless 184
Pacman Nebula
Compact, high and bright. A reliable autumn narrowband target when the big Cassiopeia nebulae feel too wide.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Magnitude
- 7.4
- Apparent size
- 35' × 30'
- Right ascension
- 00h 52m 59s
- Declination
- +56° 37' 12"
- Highest at midnight
- October
- Framing focal
- 1600mm
M33 · NGC 598
Triangulum Galaxy
Low surface brightness fools beginners. It needs dark sky and patience more than aperture, and it punishes aggressive gradient removal.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Triangulum
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- Apparent size
- 73' × 45'
- Right ascension
- 01h 33m 50s
- Declination
- +30° 39' 36"
- Highest at midnight
- October
- Framing focal
- 900mm
M74 · NGC 628
Phantom Galaxy
Face-on and famously low in surface brightness. Genuinely hard from anything worse than a rural sky.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Pisces
- Magnitude
- 9.4
- Apparent size
- 10.2' × 9.5'
- Right ascension
- 01h 36m 42s
- Declination
- +15° 47' 02"
- Highest at midnight
- October
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 869 / NGC 884 · Caldwell 14
Double Cluster
Two rich clusters in one frame at around 300mm. Fast, satisfying, and a good colour test with its red supergiants.
- Type
- Open cluster
- Constellation
- Perseus
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Apparent size
- 60'
- Right ascension
- 02h 20m 00s
- Declination
- +57° 07' 48"
- Highest at midnight
- October
- Framing focal
- 900mm
NGC 891 · Caldwell 23
NGC 891
A textbook edge-on with a knife-edge dust lane. A sharpness benchmark for any long focal length setup.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Andromeda
- Magnitude
- 9.9
- Apparent size
- 13.5' × 2.5'
- Right ascension
- 02h 22m 33s
- Declination
- +42° 20' 56"
- Highest at midnight
- October
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
IC 1805 · Melotte 15
Heart Nebula
Very large and very bright in hydrogen-alpha. Circumpolar from most of the northern hemisphere, so it is available for months.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Apparent size
- 150'
- Right ascension
- 02h 32m 42s
- Declination
- +61° 27' 00"
- Highest at midnight
- October
- Framing focal
- 400mm
IC 1848 · Westerhout 5
Soul Nebula
Sits next to the Heart. A 135mm or 200mm frame holds both, which is a far stronger image than either alone.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Apparent size
- 90' × 40'
- Right ascension
- 02h 51m 36s
- Declination
- +60° 25' 12"
- Highest at midnight
- November
- Framing focal
- 750mm
M45
Pleiades
Easy stars, difficult dust. The blue reflection nebulosity only shows up with real integration and a very gentle stretch.
- Type
- Open cluster
- Constellation
- Taurus
- Magnitude
- 1.6
- Apparent size
- 110'
- Right ascension
- 03h 47m 24s
- Declination
- +24° 07' 01"
- Highest at midnight
- November
- Framing focal
- 600mm
NGC 1499 · Sharpless 220
California Nebula
Long and thin, so framing matters more than usual. Very faint visually and very strong in hydrogen-alpha.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Perseus
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Apparent size
- 145' × 40'
- Right ascension
- 04h 03m 18s
- Declination
- +36° 25' 01"
- Highest at midnight
- November
- Framing focal
- 400mm
IC 2118
Witch Head Nebula
Extremely faint reflection nebulosity lit by Rigel, which also sits in the frame trying to ruin it. Flag control is everything.
- Type
- Reflection nebula
- Constellation
- Eridanus
- Magnitude
- 13.0
- Apparent size
- 180' × 60'
- Right ascension
- 05h 06m 54s
- Declination
- -07° 13' 59"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 300mm
LMC
Large Magellanic Cloud
Ten degrees across. A wide lens treats it as a landscape element; a telephoto treats it as a field full of separate nebulae.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Dorado
- Magnitude
- 0.9
- Apparent size
- 646' × 550'
- Right ascension
- 05h 23m 34s
- Declination
- -69° 45' 22"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 85mm
M1 · NGC 1952
Crab Nebula
Small and filamentary. It rewards good sampling and a light hand on deconvolution more than it rewards raw hours.
- Type
- Supernova remnant
- Constellation
- Taurus
- Magnitude
- 8.4
- Apparent size
- 6' × 4'
- Right ascension
- 05h 34m 32s
- Declination
- +22° 00' 54"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M42 · NGC 1976
Orion Nebula
The brightest nebula most people will ever shoot, which is exactly why the Trapezium blows out. Shoot a short exposure set alongside the long one and blend the core back in.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Orion
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Apparent size
- 85' × 60'
- Right ascension
- 05h 35m 17s
- Declination
- -05° 23' 28"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 750mm
NGC 1977
Running Man Nebula
Right above M42 and usually captured in the same frame. Its blue reflection is broadband, so a narrowband-only stack loses it.
- Type
- Reflection nebula
- Constellation
- Orion
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Apparent size
- 20'
- Right ascension
- 05h 35m 18s
- Declination
- -04° 50' 60"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 2070 · Caldwell 103
Tarantula Nebula
Inside the Large Magellanic Cloud and bright enough to hold detail at long focal length. Southern skies only.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Dorado
- Magnitude
- 8.0
- Apparent size
- 40'
- Right ascension
- 05h 38m 38s
- Declination
- -69° 05' 60"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 1600mm
IC 434 / NGC 2024 · Barnard 33
Horsehead and Flame
Alnitak is right there and will flare into your frame. Shield the lens, and consider rotating the camera to push the star toward a corner.
- Type
- Dark nebula
- Constellation
- Orion
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Apparent size
- 60' × 30'
- Right ascension
- 05h 41m 00s
- Declination
- -02° 27' 00"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 900mm
NGC 2024
Flame Nebula
Bright and structured, sitting immediately beside Alnitak. Usually shot together with the Horsehead.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Orion
- Magnitude
- 2.0
- Apparent size
- 30'
- Right ascension
- 05h 41m 43s
- Declination
- -01° 51' 00"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M78 · NGC 2068
Messier 78
A pure broadband target sitting next to Orion's bright emission. Narrowband filters do nothing for it, which catches people out.
- Type
- Reflection nebula
- Constellation
- Orion
- Magnitude
- 8.3
- Apparent size
- 8' × 6'
- Right ascension
- 05h 46m 47s
- Declination
- +00° 00' 50"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M37 · NGC 2099
Messier 37
The richest of the three Auriga clusters and a good colour-calibration test because of its mixed star population.
- Type
- Open cluster
- Constellation
- Auriga
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Apparent size
- 24'
- Right ascension
- 05h 52m 18s
- Declination
- +32° 33' 04"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
M35 · NGC 2168
Messier 35
The small distant cluster NGC 2158 sits right beside it, which makes for a much better composition than M35 alone.
- Type
- Open cluster
- Constellation
- Gemini
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Apparent size
- 28'
- Right ascension
- 06h 09m 06s
- Declination
- +24° 21' 00"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 2000mm+
NGC 2237 · Caldwell 49
Rosette Nebula
Bright, symmetrical and about the size of two full moons. A friendly first narrowband project.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Monoceros
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Apparent size
- 80'
- Right ascension
- 06h 31m 55s
- Declination
- +05° 02' 60"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 750mm
NGC 2264 · Caldwell 41
Christmas Tree and Cone
Cluster, emission nebula, the Cone and the Fox Fur all in one winter field. Generous framing pays here.
- Type
- Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Monoceros
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Apparent size
- 60' × 30'
- Right ascension
- 06h 41m 00s
- Declination
- +09° 52' 59"
- Highest at midnight
- December
- Framing focal
- 900mm
Where the data comes from
Catalog values, honestly labelled.
Positions are J2000 coordinates and magnitudes follow published catalog values. Apparent sizes are the commonly quoted photographic extents, which genuinely do vary between sources: faint outer structure keeps turning up as people integrate longer, so the Veil is three degrees or one and a half depending on who you ask and how long they exposed.
Treat sizes as framing guidance rather than measurement, and confirm anything time-critical in a planetarium at your own coordinates.
- SEDS / Wikipedia catalog tables ↗J2000 positions, magnitudes and identifications for the 110 Messier objects.
- Stellarium project ↗Free planetarium software for confirming framing, transit timing and sky position.
Next step
Now check whether
it is up tonight.
Altitude beats aperture. A modest lens on a high target beats an expensive one shooting through the horizon.