SKY · DEEP-SKY · CANADA
Deep-Sky Objects Tonight — Yellowknife
At Yellowknife's latitude and time of year the sky doesn't get properly dark tonight, so faint deep-sky objects are out of reach for now — the season returns as the nights draw in. Below is what's above the horizon anyway, for when darkness comes back.
The Moon is nearly out of the way — dark skies for faint objects.
Best placed over Yellowknife tonight
Ranked by how high each climbs in tonight's dark sky from Yellowknife. The higher an object is, the less atmosphere you look through — and the better it shows.
A bright spiral galaxy near the Big Dipper, paired with M82 in the same binocular field. In Ursa Major.
A face-on spiral with a companion — its spiral arms are visible in a modest telescope from a dark site. In Canes Venatici.
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.
The finest globular cluster for northern observers — a fuzzy ball of hundreds of thousands of stars. In Hercules.
A tiny, perfect smoke ring — the glowing shell of a dying star; a small-telescope favourite. In Lyra.
A large, low-surface-brightness spiral — needs a genuinely dark, Moonless sky, then rewarding in binoculars. In Triangulum.
A bright spring globular with half a million stars — a fine binocular and small-scope target. In Canes Venatici.
A tight, bright knot of blue stars — obvious to the naked eye, dazzling in binoculars. In Taurus.
A bright planetary nebula, an easy and rewarding binocular and small-scope target. In Vulpecula.
The wreckage of a supernova seen in 1054 AD — a faint glow needing a telescope and a dark sky. In Taurus.
A swarm of stars filling a binocular field; a faint haze to the naked eye under dark skies. In Cancer.
A compact, bright autumn globular cluster, easy to find off the Great Square of Pegasus. In Pegasus.
A glowing stellar nursery in Orion’s sword — visible to the naked eye, stunning in binoculars, a showpiece in any telescope. In Orion.
A dense, rich open cluster shaped like a flight of ducks — lovely in binoculars. In Scutum.
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 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.
Out of reach from Yellowknife tonight
These showpieces are either below Yellowknife's horizon during tonight's dark hours, or never rise from this latitude at all — useful to know before you go looking.
Yellowknife 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 Yellowknifetells you whether it's worth the trip out of town.
More sky over Yellowknife
SEE IT ON THE MAP
Watch the day/night line over Yellowknife to plan your dark-sky window.