SKY · DEEP-SKY · ETHIOPIA
Deep-Sky Objects Tonight — Addis Ababa
Tonight from Addis Ababa, the best-placed deep-sky showpiece is Dumbbell Nebula (M27), riding about 76° up in the northern sky. Here's the full list of galaxies, nebulae and clusters worth hunting from Addis Ababa tonight — and how dark a sky each one needs.
A modest Moon — bright planets and constellations are fine, faint detail less so.
Best placed over Addis Ababa tonight
Ranked by how high each climbs in tonight's dark sky from Addis Ababa. The higher an object is, the less atmosphere you look through — and the better it shows.
A bright planetary nebula, an easy and rewarding binocular and small-scope target. In Vulpecula.
A dense, rich open cluster shaped like a flight of ducks — lovely in binoculars. In Scutum.
A bright spring globular with half a million stars — a fine binocular and small-scope target. In Canes Venatici.
An edge-on galaxy with a dark dust lane like a hat brim — a small-telescope classic. In Virgo.
Home of the famous "Pillars of Creation"; the surrounding cluster is an easy binocular sight. In Serpens.
A compact, bright autumn globular cluster, easy to find off the Great Square of Pegasus. In Pegasus.
A tiny, perfect smoke ring — the glowing shell of a dying star; a small-telescope favourite. In Lyra.
The finest globular cluster for northern observers — a fuzzy ball of hundreds of thousands of stars. In Hercules.
A delicate nebula split by dark dust lanes, near the Lagoon in the rich Sagittarius star fields. In Sagittarius.
A bright nebula in the heart of the Milky Way — superb in binoculars from a dark southern-sky view. In Sagittarius.
One of the brightest globular clusters, low in the south for northern observers. In Sagittarius.
A face-on spiral with a companion — its spiral arms are visible in a modest telescope from a dark site. In Canes Venatici.
A bright, sprawling star cluster low in the southern Milky Way — naked-eye from dark skies. In Scorpius.
A swarm of stars filling a binocular field; a faint haze to the naked eye under dark skies. In Cancer.
A bright spiral galaxy near the Big Dipper, paired with M82 in the same binocular field. In Ursa Major.
The nearest big galaxy — a faint elongated smudge to the naked eye from a dark sky, the most distant thing most people ever see unaided. In Andromeda.
A large, low-surface-brightness spiral — needs a genuinely dark, Moonless sky, then rewarding in binoculars. In Triangulum.
Out of reach from Addis Ababa tonight
These showpieces are either below Addis Ababa's horizon during tonight's dark hours, or never rise from this latitude at all — useful to know before you go looking.
Addis Ababa right now
Faint galaxies and nebulae need a genuinely dark, cloudless, Moonless sky — a quick check of tonight's cloud cover and the stargazing verdict for Addis Ababatells you whether it's worth the trip out of town.
More sky over Addis Ababa
SEE IT ON THE MAP
Watch the day/night line over Addis Ababa to plan your dark-sky window.