Winter Deep Sky Viewing Guide - The Virtual Astronomy Club

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Winter Objects (December-February)

Welcome to the Winter Deep Sky Viewing Guide.

Included with this package are 26 deep sky objects that are best seen in winter evenings in the northern hemisphere. There’s a selection of double 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.

Winter 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	December 15			January 15			February 15			Mag.	Type	Constellation	RA	Dec.	Notes
Object	Rise	Highest	Set	Rise	Highest	Set	Rise	Highest	Set	Mag.	Type	Constellation	RA	Dec.	Notes
Double Stars in Orion	18:18	23:53	5:32	16:16	21:51	3:31	14:14	19:50	1:29	0.3	Double Stars	Orion	05h 14m 32s	-08° 12′ 06″	Data given for Rigel (Beta Orionis)
M45Pleiades	14:59	22:26	5:58	12:57	20:24	3:56	10:55	18:22	1:54	1.5	Open Cluster	Taurus	03h 47m 00s	+24° 07′ 00″
Double Stars in Gemini	18:09	2:17	10:21	16:07	0:15	8:19	14:05	22:09	6:17	2.9	Double Stars	Gemini	07h 34m 36s	+31° 53′ 17″	Data for Castor (Alpha Gem.)
Double Stars in Perseus	never sets	21:30	never sets	never sets	19:28	never sets	never sets	17:26	never sets	3.8	Double Stars	Perseus	02h 50m 39s	+59° 53′ 59″	Data given for Struve 307
M42 & M43 / NGC 1976 & 1982Orion Nebula	18:30	0:18	6:02	16:28	22:12	4:00	14:26	20:10	1:59	4.0	Bright Nebula	Orion	05h 35m 24s	-05° 27′ 00″	Data given for M42
Omicron² EridaniKeid	17:17	22:54	4:35	15:15	20:52	2:33	13:14	18:50	0:31	4.4	Triple Star	Eridanus	04h 15m 16s	-07° 39′ 10″
M41 / NGC 2287	20:34	1:29	6:19	18:32	23:23	4:17	16:30	21:21	2:16	4.5	Open Cluster	Canis Major	06h 46m 01s	-20° 45′ 00″
M35 / NGC 2168	17:19	0:52	8:20	15:17	22:46	6:18	13:15	20:44	4:16	5.1	Open Cluster	Gemini	06h 08m 54s	+24° 20′ 00″
M34 / NGC 1039Spiral Cluster	12:02	21:21	6:45	10:00	19:19	4:43	7:58	17:18	2:41	5.2	Open Cluster	Perseus	02h 42m 05s	+42° 45′ 00″
M37 / NGC 2099	16:23	0:35	8:43	14:21	22:29	6:41	12:20	20:27	4:39	5.6	Open Cluster	Auriga	05h 52m 18s	+32° 33′ 00″
M36 / NGC 1960Pinwheel Cluster	15:58	0:19	8:36	13:57	22:13	6:34	11:55	20:11	4:32	6.0	Open Cluster	Auriga	05h 36m 18s	+34° 08′ 00″
M93 / NGC 2447	21:44	2:27	7:05	19:43	0:25	5:03	17:41	22:19	3:02	6.2	Open Cluster	Puppis	07h 44m 30s	-23° 51′ 00″
NGC 1528, 1545	never sets	22:54	never sets	never sets	20:52	never sets	never sets	18:51	never sets	6.4	Open Clusters	Perseus	04h 15m 23s	+51° 12′ 00″	Data given for NGC 1528
M38 / NGC 1912Starfish Cluster	15:41	0:11	8:38	13:39	22:06	6:36	11:37	20:04	4:34	6.4	Open Cluster	Auriga	05h 28m 40s	+35° 50′ 00″
NGC 1502	never sets	22:47	never sets	never sets	20:45	never sets	never sets	18:43	never sets	6.9	Open Cluster	Camelopardalis	04h 07m 50s	+62° 19′ 00″
NGC 281Pacman Nebula	never sets	19:32	never sets	never sets	17:30	never sets	never sets	15:29	never sets	7.4	Bright Nebula	Cassiopeia	00h 52m 48s	+56° 36′ 00″	Best viewed as the sky gets dark
M103 / NGC 581	never sets	20:13	never sets	never sets	18:11	never sets	never sets	16:09	never sets	7.4	Open Cluster	Cassiopeia	01h 33m 23s	+60° 39′ 00″
M79 / NGC 1904	19:27	0:07	4:43	17:25	22:01	2:41	15:24	19:59	0:39	7.7	Globular Cluster	Lepus	05h 24m 11s	-24° 31′ 29″
M78 / NGC 2068	18:23	0:29	6:31	16:21	22:24	4:30	14:20	20:22	2:28	8.3	Bright Nebula	Orion	05h 46m 42s	+00° 03′ 00″
M1 / NGC 1952Crab Nebula	16:54	0:17	7:36	14:52	22:11	5:34	12:50	20:09	3:32	8.4	Bright Nebula	Taurus	05h 34m 00s	+22° 01′ 00″
NGC 185 & 147	8:45	19:19	5:56	6:43	17:17	3:54	4:41	15:15	1:52	9.2	Elliptical Galaxy	Cassiopeia	00h 38m 58s	+48° 20′ 15″	Data given for NGC 185
NGC 2392Clown Face Nebula	18:53	2:12	9:26	16:51	0:10	7:24	14:49	22:04	5:22	9.2	Planetary Nebula	Gemini	07h 29m 11s	+20° 54′ 37″
NGC 3893	19:45	6:30	17:12	17:43	4:28	15:10	15:41	2:27	13:08	9.9	Spiral Galaxy	Ursa Major	11h 48m 38s	+48° 42′ 39″	Best viewed late evening
M76 / NGC 650Little Dumbbell Nebula	never sets	20:22	never sets	never sets	18:20	never sets	never sets	16:18	never sets	10.1	Planetary Nebula	Perseus	01h 42m 21s	+51° 34′ 07″	Best viewed as the sky gets dark
C44 / NGC 7479	11:02	17:45	0:32	9:00	15:43	22:26	6:58	13:41	20:24	10.9	Spiral Galaxy	Pegasus	23h 04m 57s	+12° 19′ 22″	Best viewed as the sky gets dark
NGC 1501Oyster Nebula	never sets	22:46	never sets	never sets	20:44	never sets	never sets	18:42	never sets	11.9	Planetary Nebula	Camelopardalis	04h 07m 13s	+60° 55′ 03″	Best viewed late evening

Brightest first. Sorted by magnitude.Central Time, 24-hour clock. Local times elsewhere in the northern hemisphere are within a few minutes: an object highest at 10pm in the US is highest at about 10pm in the UK.Never sets means circumpolar, so there is no rise or set time.Coordinates J2000.

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.