Best deep-sky targets in August
Galaxies, nebulae and clusters that are well placed for imaging in August, from northern and southern latitudes. A target makes the list when it spends at least an hour above 30° in astronomical darkness on August 15 and is either in its best season or up for most of the dark night.
New moon in August
The darkest nights fall around the new moon: , , and (UTC). Galaxies and faint dust need those nights. Emission nebulae can be imaged with the moon up using a narrowband or dual-band filter. See the new moon calendar for dark weeks, or the dark sky calendar for moon-free hours at your location.
From 45° N
45° N is about the latitude of Minneapolis, Bordeaux and Milan. On August 15 a well-placed target can stay above 30° for up to 6.2 hours of astronomical darkness, and 59 targets are well placed. Top picks: Andromeda Galaxy (M 31), North America Nebula (NGC 7000), Owl Cluster (NGC 457), Heart Nebula (IC 1805).
Coming into season this month: Andromeda Galaxy, Heart Nebula, Soul Nebula, Saturn Nebula, Hidden Galaxy, Barbell Nebula, Fish Head Nebula, M 32 and 5 more.
Galaxies 11
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| M 31new this monthAndromeda Galaxy | Galaxy | 5.8 h | 86° |
| NGC 6946Fireworks Galaxy | Galaxy | 6.2 h | 75° |
| IC 342new this monthHidden Galaxy | Galaxy | 5.5 h | 67° |
| M 32new this month | Galaxy | 5.8 h | 86° |
| M 110new this month | Galaxy | 5.8 h | 87° |
| NGC 185 | Galaxy | 6.2 h | 87° |
| NGC 7331 | Galaxy | 6.2 h | 79° |
| NGC 147 | Galaxy | 6.2 h | 86° |
| NGC 7814new this month | Galaxy | 5.0 h | 61° |
| NGC 7479new this month | Galaxy | 5.7 h | 57° |
1 more galaxies
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 7497new this month | Galaxy | 6.0 h | 63° |
Nebulae 31
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 7000North America Nebula | Emission nebula | 6.2 h | 90° |
| IC 1805new this monthHeart Nebula | Cluster with nebula | 5.7 h | 74° |
| IC 1848new this monthSoul Nebula | Cluster with nebula | 5.2 h | 75° |
| NGC 6960Western Veil (Witch's Broom) | Supernova remnant | 6.2 h | 76° |
| NGC 6992Eastern Veil | Supernova remnant | 6.2 h | 77° |
| NGC 6995Eastern Veil (Bat Nebula) | Supernova remnant | 6.2 h | 76° |
| IC 5146Cocoon Nebula | Cluster with nebula | 6.2 h | 88° |
| NGC 7023Iris Nebula | Nebula | 6.2 h | 67° |
| NGC 7380Wizard Nebula | Cluster with nebula | 6.2 h | 77° |
| M 27Dumbbell Nebula | Planetary nebula | 6.0 h | 68° |
21 more nebulae
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 6888Crescent Nebula | Emission nebula | 6.2 h | 83° |
| IC 5070Pelican Nebula | Emission nebula | 6.2 h | 89° |
| NGC 7009new this monthSaturn Nebula | Planetary nebula | 3.2 h | 34° |
| NGC 7662Blue Snowball Nebula | Planetary nebula | 6.2 h | 88° |
| M 57Ring Nebula | Planetary nebula | 5.5 h | 78° |
| NGC 6543Cat's Eye Nebula | Planetary nebula | 6.2 h | 68° |
| NGC 6826Blinking Planetary | Planetary nebula | 6.2 h | 84° |
| M 76new this monthBarbell Nebula | Planetary nebula | 5.5 h | 83° |
| NGC 7635Bubble Nebula | Emission nebula | 6.2 h | 74° |
| NGC 40Bow-Tie nebula | Planetary nebula | 6.2 h | 62° |
| IC 63Ghost of Cassiopeia | Emission nebula | 6.2 h | 74° |
| C 9Cave Nebula | Emission nebula | 6.2 h | 72° |
| IC 1396Elephant's Trunk Nebula | Cluster with nebula | 6.2 h | 78° |
| IC 1795new this monthFish Head Nebula | Emission nebula | 5.8 h | 73° |
| NGC 281Pacman Nebula | Emission nebula | 6.2 h | 78° |
| NGC 7129 | Cluster with nebula | 6.2 h | 69° |
| NGC 6820 | Nebula | 5.7 h | 68° |
| IC 59 | Reflection nebula | 6.2 h | 74° |
| NGC 6914 | Reflection nebula | 6.2 h | 87° |
| NGC 7822 | Emission nebula | 6.2 h | 68° |
| NGC 896new this month | Nebula | 5.8 h | 73° |
Star clusters 17
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 457Owl Cluster | Open cluster | 6.2 h | 77° |
| M 39 | Open cluster | 6.2 h | 87° |
| M 71 | Globular cluster | 5.7 h | 64° |
| M 15 | Globular cluster | 6.2 h | 57° |
| M 2 | Globular cluster | 5.8 h | 44° |
| NGC 7243 | Open cluster | 6.2 h | 85° |
| M 29 | Open cluster | 6.2 h | 84° |
| M 52 | Open cluster | 6.2 h | 73° |
| NGC 663 | Open cluster | 6.2 h | 74° |
| M 103 | Open cluster | 6.2 h | 74° |
From 35° S
35° S is about the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires. On August 15 a well-placed target can stay above 30° for up to 9.2 hours of astronomical darkness, and 33 targets are well placed. Top picks: 47 Tucanae (NGC 104), Wild Duck Cluster (M 11), Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), Dumbbell Nebula (M 27).
Coming into season this month: 47 Tucanae, Helix Nebula, Skull Nebula, Sculptor Galaxy, NGC 362, NGC 55, NGC 300, NGC 247 and 1 more.
Galaxies 9
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 6822Barnard's Galaxy | Galaxy | 7.5 h | 70° |
| NGC 253new this monthSculptor Galaxy | Galaxy | 6.7 h | 80° |
| NGC 55new this month | Galaxy | 7.7 h | 86° |
| NGC 300new this month | Galaxy | 7.0 h | 87° |
| NGC 247new this month | Galaxy | 6.5 h | 76° |
| NGC 6744 | Galaxy | 8.8 h | 61° |
| NGC 7814new this month | Galaxy | 4.3 h | 39° |
| NGC 7479 | Galaxy | 5.2 h | 43° |
| NGC 7497 | Galaxy | 3.8 h | 37° |
Nebulae 7
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 7293new this monthHelix Nebula | Planetary nebula | 8.8 h | 76° |
| M 27Dumbbell Nebula | Planetary nebula | 2.3 h | 32° |
| NGC 7009Saturn Nebula | Planetary nebula | 8.2 h | 66° |
| NGC 246new this monthSkull Nebula | Planetary nebula | 6.2 h | 67° |
| NGC 6820 | Nebula | 2.0 h | 32° |
| NGC 6726 | Reflection nebula | 7.7 h | 88° |
| NGC 6729 | Nebula | 7.7 h | 88° |
Star clusters 17
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 104new this month47 Tucanae | Globular cluster | 9.2 h | 53° |
| M 11Wild Duck Cluster | Open cluster | 6.2 h | 61° |
| M 71 | Globular cluster | 3.7 h | 36° |
| M 15 | Globular cluster | 5.3 h | 43° |
| M 2 | Globular cluster | 7.0 h | 56° |
| NGC 6752 | Globular cluster | 8.7 h | 65° |
| M 55 | Globular cluster | 8.0 h | 86° |
| NGC 362new this month | Globular cluster | 8.3 h | 54° |
| M 30 | Globular cluster | 9.0 h | 78° |
| NGC 6541 | Globular cluster | 7.0 h | 81° |
Filters for August's nebulae
28 of August's picks are emission nebulae, including the North America Nebula, the Heart Nebula, the Soul Nebula. With a dual-band filter on a color camera they stay workable on the moonlit nights between the dark weeks.
- Optolong L-Ultimate 3 nm 3 nm dual-band, Ha, OIII, for color cameras View at High Point Scientific
- Antlia ALP-T 5 nm 5 nm dual-band, Ha, OIII, for color cameras View at High Point Scientific
- Optolong L-eXtreme 7 nm 7 nm dual-band, Ha, OIII, for color cameras View at High Point Scientific
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How this list is made
For each of the 272 targets in the target guide, the time spent above 30° while the sun is more than 18° below the horizon is worked out for the night of August 15, at 45° N and 35° S. A target is listed if it gets at least an hour and either has at least 80% of its best month's hours, or is up for at least 75% of the longest time any target gets that night. The first rule keeps low targets such as the Orion Nebula from northern sites; the second keeps summer targets whose best month is later only because the nights get longer.
Named and brighter objects are listed first. "Highest" is the altitude at which the target crosses the meridian, which may fall outside the dark hours. The moon is not counted here. The stars rise about four minutes earlier each night, so on the 1st each target reaches a given spot in the sky about an hour later in the night than on the 15th, and at the end of the month about an hour earlier. For your own location and date, open the imaging planner.