SKY · DEEP-SKY · INDIA
Deep-Sky Objects Tonight — Chennai
Tonight from Chennai, the best-placed deep-sky showpiece is Dumbbell Nebula (M27), riding about 80° up in the northern sky. Here's the full list of galaxies, nebulae and clusters worth hunting from Chennai 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 Chennai tonight
Ranked by how high each climbs in tonight's dark sky from Chennai. 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 bright spring globular with half a million stars — a fine binocular and small-scope target. In Canes Venatici.
A compact, bright autumn globular cluster, easy to find off the Great Square of Pegasus. In Pegasus.
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.
The finest globular cluster for northern observers — a fuzzy ball of hundreds of thousands of stars. In Hercules.
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 face-on spiral with a companion — its spiral arms are visible in a modest telescope from a dark site. In Canes Venatici.
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.
A bright, sprawling star cluster low in the southern Milky Way — naked-eye from dark skies. In Scorpius.
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 spiral galaxy near the Big Dipper, paired with M82 in the same binocular field. In Ursa Major.
A swarm of stars filling a binocular field; a faint haze to the naked eye under dark skies. In Cancer.
A large, low-surface-brightness spiral — needs a genuinely dark, Moonless sky, then rewarding in binoculars. In Triangulum.
Out of reach from Chennai tonight
These showpieces are either below Chennai's horizon during tonight's dark hours, or never rise from this latitude at all — useful to know before you go looking.
Chennai 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 Chennaitells you whether it's worth the trip out of town.
More sky over Chennai
SEE IT ON THE MAP
Watch the day/night line over Chennai to plan your dark-sky window.