SKY · DEEP-SKY · USA · DARK-SKY
Deep-Sky Objects Tonight — Big Bend
Tonight from Big Bend, the best-placed deep-sky showpiece is Ring Nebula (M57), riding about 86° up in the northern sky. Here's the full list of galaxies, nebulae and clusters worth hunting from Big Bend tonight — and how dark a sky each one needs.
The Moon is nearly out of the way — dark skies for faint objects.
Best placed over Big Bend tonight
Ranked by how high each climbs in tonight's dark sky from Big Bend. The higher an object is, the less atmosphere you look through — and the better it shows.
A tiny, perfect smoke ring — the glowing shell of a dying star; a small-telescope favourite. In Lyra.
A bright planetary nebula, an easy and rewarding binocular and small-scope target. In Vulpecula.
The finest globular cluster for northern observers — a fuzzy ball of hundreds of thousands of stars. In Hercules.
A compact, bright autumn globular cluster, easy to find off the Great Square of Pegasus. In Pegasus.
A bright spring globular with half a million stars — a fine binocular and small-scope target. In Canes Venatici.
A face-on spiral with a companion — its spiral arms are visible in a modest telescope from a dark site. In Canes Venatici.
A dense, rich open cluster shaped like a flight of ducks — lovely in binoculars. In Scutum.
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.
Home of the famous "Pillars of Creation"; the surrounding cluster is an easy binocular sight. In Serpens.
A large, low-surface-brightness spiral — needs a genuinely dark, Moonless sky, then rewarding in binoculars. In Triangulum.
A delicate nebula split by dark dust lanes, near the Lagoon in the rich Sagittarius star fields. In Sagittarius.
One of the brightest globular clusters, low in the south for northern observers. In Sagittarius.
A bright nebula in the heart of the Milky Way — superb in binoculars from a dark southern-sky view. In Sagittarius.
An edge-on galaxy with a dark dust lane like a hat brim — a small-telescope classic. In Virgo.
A bright spiral galaxy near the Big Dipper, paired with M82 in the same binocular field. In Ursa Major.
A bright, sprawling star cluster low in the southern Milky Way — naked-eye from dark skies. In Scorpius.
A tight, bright knot of blue stars — obvious to the naked eye, dazzling in binoculars. In Taurus.
Out of reach from Big Bend tonight
These showpieces are either below Big Bend's horizon during tonight's dark hours, or never rise from this latitude at all — useful to know before you go looking.
Big Bend 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 Big Bendtells you whether it's worth the trip out of town.
More sky over Big Bend
SEE IT ON THE MAP
Watch the day/night line over Big Bend to plan your dark-sky window.