Fall Objects (September-November)
Welcome to the Fall Deep Sky Viewing Guide.
Included with this package are 26 deep sky objects that are best seen in fall (autumn) evenings in the northern hemisphere. There’s a selection of double and variable stars, galaxies, nebulae, and clusters for you to discover.
I’ve picked 26 so that there are two objects per week for the season. However, I know that life and nature don’t always run that smoothly. If you only have the time, or the weather, to get outside once or twice per month, that’s fine. You can try and see several in one evening, the data table below will help you plan which ones are best to see at which time.
Also included in the table are the right ascension and declination coordinates based on the 2000.0 epoch. If you have setting circles or a go-to telescope, these can be used for precise location targeting.
Fall Deep Sky Viewing Guide
When to see all 26 objects
Rise, highest point and set on the 15th of each month. Pick your month, then look for objects that are highest in the evening.
| Object | September 15 | October 15 | November 15 | Mag. | Type | Constellation | RA | Dec. | Notes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rise | Highest | Set | Rise | Highest | Set | Rise | Highest | Set | |||||||
| Algol & Other Variables | 19:42 | 4:49 | 13:53 | 17:44 | 2:51 | 11:55 | 14:42 | 23:45 | 8:53 | 2.1 | Variable Star | Perseus | 03h 08m 10s | +40° 57′ 20″ | Best viewed as the sky gets dark. |
| M31 & M32 / NGC 224 & 221Andromeda Galaxy | 17:14 | 2:24 | 11:30 | 15:16 | 0:26 | 9:32 | 12:14 | 21:20 | 6:30 | 3.3 | Spiral Galaxy | Andromeda | 00h 42m 44s | +41° 16′ 08″ | Data given for M31 |
| C20 / NGC 7000North America Nebula | 13:01 | 22:37 | 8:16 | 11:03 | 20:39 | 6:18 | 8:01 | 17:37 | 3:16 | 4.0 | Bright Nebula | Cygnus | 20h 58m 48s | +44° 20′ 00″ | |
| M39 / NGC 7092 | 12:34 | 23:10 | 9:49 | 10:36 | 21:12 | 7:51 | 7:34 | 18:10 | 4:49 | 4.6 | Open Cluster | Cygnus | 21h 31m 48s | +48° 26′ 00″ | |
| Epsilon Lyrae | 11:29 | 20:23 | 5:20 | 9:31 | 18:25 | 3:22 | 6:30 | 15:23 | 0:20 | 5.0 | Double Star | Lyra | 18h 44m 20s | +39° 40′ 12″ | |
| C33 & C34Veil Nebula | 14:31 | 22:34 | 6:41 | 12:33 | 20:36 | 4:44 | 9:31 | 17:35 | 1:42 | 5.0 | Bright Nebula | Cygnus | 20h 56m 24s | +31° 42′ 00″ | Data given for the Eastern Veil (C33) |
| NGC 869 & 884Double Cluster | never sets | 4:00 | never sets | never sets | 2:02 | never sets | never sets | 22:56 | never sets | 5.3 | Open Clusters | Perseus | 02h 19m 00s | +57° 08′ 00″ | Data given for NGC 869 |
| Double Stars in Pegasus | 16:52 | 23:16 | 5:43 | 14:54 | 21:18 | 3:45 | 11:52 | 18:16 | 0:43 | 5.8 | Double Stars | Pegasus | 21h 37m 44s | +06° 37′ 06″ | Data given for 3 Pegasi |
| M33 / NGC 598Triangulum Galaxy | 19:13 | 3:15 | 11:13 | 17:15 | 1:17 | 9:15 | 14:13 | 22:11 | 6:13 | 5.8 | Spiral Galaxy | Triangulum | 01h 33m 51s | +30° 39′ 36″ | |
| M15 / NGC 7078Great Pegasus Cluster | 16:26 | 23:08 | 5:54 | 14:28 | 21:10 | 3:56 | 11:26 | 18:08 | 0:54 | 6.2 | Globular Cluster | Pegasus | 21h 29m 58s | +12° 10′ 01″ | |
| M16 / NGC 6611Eagle Nebula | 14:41 | 19:57 | 1:17 | 12:43 | 17:59 | 23:15 | 9:41 | 14:57 | 20:14 | 6.4 | Emission Nebula | Serpens | 18h 18m 48s | -13° 47′ 00″ | |
| M2 / NGC 7089 | 17:12 | 23:11 | 5:15 | 15:14 | 21:13 | 3:17 | 12:12 | 18:11 | 0:15 | 6.5 | Globular Cluster | Aquarius | 21h 33m 27s | -00° 49′ 24″ | |
| Challenging Doubles in Andromeda | 19:07 | 2:36 | 10:02 | 17:09 | 0:38 | 8:04 | 14:07 | 21:32 | 5:02 | 6.5 | Double Stars | Andromeda | 00h 54m 58s | +23° 37′ 43″ | Data given for 36 Andromedae |
| M52 / NGC 7654 | never sets | 1:06 | never sets | never sets | 23:04 | never sets | never sets | 20:03 | never sets | 6.9 | Open Cluster | Cassiopeia | 23h 24m 48s | +61° 35′ 00″ | |
| M27 / NGC 6853Dumbbell Nebula | 14:16 | 21:38 | 5:03 | 12:18 | 19:40 | 3:05 | 9:16 | 16:38 | 0:00 | 7.1 | Planetary Nebula | Vulpecula | 19h 59m 36s | +22° 43′ 01″ | |
| C6 / NGC 6543Cat's Eye Nebula | never sets | 19:37 | never sets | never sets | 17:39 | never sets | never sets | 14:37 | never sets | 8.1 | Planetary Nebula | Draco | 17h 58m 33s | +66° 37′ 59″ | Best viewed late evening. |
| M110 / NGC 205 | 17:08 | 2:22 | 11:31 | 15:10 | 0:24 | 9:33 | 12:08 | 21:18 | 6:32 | 8.1 | Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy | Andromeda | 00h 40m 22s | +41° 41′ 07″ | |
| NGC 1245 | 18:38 | 4:56 | 15:09 | 16:40 | 2:58 | 13:11 | 13:38 | 23:52 | 10:09 | 8.4 | Open Cluster | Perseus | 03h 14m 42s | +47° 14′ 00″ | |
| C5 / IC 342 | never sets | 5:28 | never sets | never sets | 3:30 | never sets | never sets | 0:28 | never sets | 8.5 | Spiral Galaxy | Camelopardalis | 03h 46m 49s | +68° 05′ 46″ | |
| M57 / NGC 6720Ring Nebula | 12:22 | 20:32 | 4:46 | 10:24 | 18:34 | 2:48 | 7:22 | 15:32 | 23:42 | 8.8 | Planetary Nebula | Lyra | 18h 53m 36s | +33° 01′ 40″ | Best viewed as the sky gets dark |
| M77 / NGC 1068Cetus A | 22:18 | 4:24 | 10:26 | 20:20 | 2:26 | 8:28 | 17:18 | 23:20 | 5:26 | 9.0 | Spiral Galaxy | Cetus | 02h 42m 41s | -00° 00′ 48″ | |
| M74 / NGC 628Phantom Galaxy | 20:19 | 3:18 | 10:13 | 18:21 | 1:20 | 8:15 | 15:19 | 22:14 | 5:13 | 9.0 | Spiral Galaxy | Pisces | 01h 36m 42s | +15° 47′ 00″ | |
| NGC 7331 | 15:57 | 0:19 | 8:37 | 13:59 | 22:17 | 6:39 | 10:57 | 19:15 | 3:37 | 9.25 | Spiral Galaxy | Pegasus | 22h 37m 04s | +34° 24′ 56″ | |
| M109 / NGC 3992 | never sets | 13:37 | never sets | never sets | 11:39 | never sets | never sets | 8:37 | never sets | 9.6 | Galaxy | Ursa Major | 11h 57m 36s | +53° 22′ 28″ | |
| NGC 246Skull Nebula | 21:02 | 2:28 | 7:51 | 19:04 | 0:30 | 5:53 | 16:02 | 21:25 | 2:51 | 10.4 | Planetary Nebula | Cetus | 00h 47m 04s | -11° 52′ 22″ | |
| NGC 7814 | 18:44 | 1:45 | 8:41 | 16:46 | 23:43 | 6:43 | 13:44 | 20:41 | 3:41 | 10.5 | Spiral Galaxy | Pegasus | 00h 03m 15s | +16° 08′ 44″ | Best viewed as the sky gets dark. |
For more precise planning, use software such as Stellarium (which is free) or SkySafari, which is paid. Each link opens a new tab so you won't lose this page.