SKY · DEEP-SKY · COLOMBIA
Deep-Sky Objects Tonight — Bogotá
Tonight from Bogotá, the best-placed deep-sky showpiece is Pegasus Cluster (M15), riding about 82° up in the northern sky. Here's the full list of galaxies, nebulae and clusters worth hunting from Bogotá 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 Bogotá tonight
Ranked by how high each climbs in tonight's dark sky from Bogotá. The higher an object is, the less atmosphere you look through — and the better it shows.
A compact, bright autumn globular cluster, easy to find off the Great Square of Pegasus. In Pegasus.
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 tiny, perfect smoke ring — the glowing shell of a dying star; a small-telescope favourite. In Lyra.
Home of the famous "Pillars of Creation"; the surrounding cluster is an easy binocular sight. In Serpens.
One of the brightest globular clusters, low in the south for northern observers. In Sagittarius.
A delicate nebula split by dark dust lanes, near the Lagoon in the rich Sagittarius star fields. In Sagittarius.
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 bright nebula in the heart of the Milky Way — superb in binoculars from a dark southern-sky view. In Sagittarius.
A large, low-surface-brightness spiral — needs a genuinely dark, Moonless sky, then rewarding in binoculars. In Triangulum.
A bright, sprawling star cluster low in the southern Milky Way — naked-eye from dark skies. In Scorpius.
The finest globular cluster for northern observers — a fuzzy ball of hundreds of thousands of stars. In Hercules.
A tight, bright knot of blue stars — obvious to the naked eye, dazzling in binoculars. In Taurus.
Out of reach from Bogotá tonight
These showpieces are either below Bogotá's horizon during tonight's dark hours, or never rise from this latitude at all — useful to know before you go looking.
Bogotá 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 Bogotátells you whether it's worth the trip out of town.
More sky over Bogotá
SEE IT ON THE MAP
Watch the day/night line over Bogotá to plan your dark-sky window.