Best deep-sky targets in July
Galaxies, nebulae and clusters that are well placed for imaging in July, from northern and southern latitudes. A target makes the list when it spends at least an hour above 30° in astronomical darkness on July 15 and is either in its best season or up for most of the dark night.
New moon in July
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 July 15 a well-placed target can stay above 30° for up to 4.2 hours of astronomical darkness, and 56 targets are well placed. Top picks: North America Nebula (NGC 7000), Wild Duck Cluster (M 11), Hercules Cluster (M 13), Eagle Nebula (M 16).
Coming into season this month: Owl Cluster, Blue Snowball Nebula, Ghost of Cassiopeia, Pacman Nebula, M 15, M 2, NGC 663, M 103 and 7 more.
Galaxies 8
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| M 101Pinwheel Galaxy | Galaxy | 3.2 h | 81° |
| NGC 6946Fireworks Galaxy | Galaxy | 4.2 h | 75° |
| M 102Spindle Galaxy | Galaxy | 4.2 h | 79° |
| NGC 5907Splinter Galaxy | Galaxy | 4.2 h | 79° |
| NGC 185new this month | Galaxy | 3.3 h | 87° |
| NGC 7331new this month | Galaxy | 4.2 h | 79° |
| NGC 147new this month | Galaxy | 3.3 h | 86° |
| NGC 4236 | Galaxy | 3.3 h | 66° |
Nebulae 26
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 7000North America Nebula | Emission nebula | 4.2 h | 90° |
| M 16Eagle Nebula | Nebula | 1.7 h | 31° |
| NGC 6960Western Veil (Witch's Broom) | Supernova remnant | 4.2 h | 76° |
| NGC 6992Eastern Veil | Supernova remnant | 4.2 h | 77° |
| NGC 6995Eastern Veil (Bat Nebula) | Supernova remnant | 4.2 h | 76° |
| IC 5146Cocoon Nebula | Cluster with nebula | 4.2 h | 88° |
| NGC 7023Iris Nebula | Nebula | 4.2 h | 67° |
| NGC 7380Wizard Nebula | Cluster with nebula | 4.2 h | 77° |
| M 27Dumbbell Nebula | Planetary nebula | 4.2 h | 68° |
| NGC 6888Crescent Nebula | Emission nebula | 4.2 h | 83° |
16 more nebulae
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| IC 5070Pelican Nebula | Emission nebula | 4.2 h | 89° |
| NGC 7662new this monthBlue Snowball Nebula | Planetary nebula | 4.2 h | 88° |
| M 57Ring Nebula | Planetary nebula | 4.2 h | 78° |
| NGC 6543Cat's Eye Nebula | Planetary nebula | 4.2 h | 68° |
| NGC 6826Blinking Planetary | Planetary nebula | 4.2 h | 84° |
| NGC 7635Bubble Nebula | Emission nebula | 4.2 h | 74° |
| NGC 40Bow-Tie nebula | Planetary nebula | 4.2 h | 62° |
| IC 63new this monthGhost of Cassiopeia | Emission nebula | 4.0 h | 74° |
| C 9Cave Nebula | Emission nebula | 4.2 h | 72° |
| IC 1396Elephant's Trunk Nebula | Cluster with nebula | 4.2 h | 78° |
| NGC 281new this monthPacman Nebula | Emission nebula | 3.7 h | 78° |
| NGC 7129 | Cluster with nebula | 4.2 h | 69° |
| NGC 6820 | Nebula | 4.2 h | 68° |
| IC 59new this month | Reflection nebula | 4.2 h | 74° |
| NGC 6914 | Reflection nebula | 4.2 h | 87° |
| NGC 7822 | Emission nebula | 4.2 h | 68° |
Star clusters 22
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| M 11Wild Duck Cluster | Open cluster | 3.7 h | 39° |
| M 13Hercules Cluster | Globular cluster | 4.2 h | 81° |
| NGC 457new this monthOwl Cluster | Open cluster | 3.5 h | 77° |
| M 39 | Open cluster | 4.2 h | 87° |
| M 14 | Globular cluster | 2.7 h | 42° |
| M 71 | Globular cluster | 4.2 h | 64° |
| M 15new this month | Globular cluster | 4.2 h | 57° |
| M 2new this month | Globular cluster | 3.2 h | 44° |
| NGC 7243 | Open cluster | 4.2 h | 85° |
| M 92 | Globular cluster | 4.2 h | 88° |
12 more star clusters
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| M 29 | Open cluster | 4.2 h | 84° |
| M 52 | Open cluster | 4.2 h | 73° |
| NGC 663new this month | Open cluster | 3.3 h | 74° |
| M 103new this month | Open cluster | 3.5 h | 74° |
| NGC 188 | Open cluster | 4.2 h | 50° |
| M 56 | Globular cluster | 4.2 h | 75° |
| M 26 | Open cluster | 3.2 h | 36° |
| M 72new this month | Globular cluster | 2.2 h | 32° |
| NGC 559new this month | Open cluster | 3.8 h | 72° |
| NGC 6934new this month | Globular cluster | 4.2 h | 52° |
| NGC 7006 | Globular cluster | 4.2 h | 61° |
| NGC 6882 | Open cluster | 4.2 h | 71° |
From 35° S
35° S is about the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires. On July 15 a well-placed target can stay above 30° for up to 11.0 hours of astronomical darkness, and 53 targets are well placed. Top picks: Ptolemy's Cluster (M 7), Butterfly Cluster (M 6), Wild Duck Cluster (M 11), Lagoon Nebula (M 8).
Coming into season this month: Saturn Nebula, M 2, M 30, M 72, NGC 7479, NGC 7497.
Galaxies 4
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 6822Barnard's Galaxy | Galaxy | 8.3 h | 70° |
| NGC 6744 | Galaxy | 11.0 h | 61° |
| NGC 7479new this month | Galaxy | 4.7 h | 43° |
| NGC 7497new this month | Galaxy | 3.8 h | 37° |
Nebulae 13
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| M 8Lagoon Nebula | Nebula | 8.7 h | 79° |
| M 16Eagle Nebula | Nebula | 8.3 h | 69° |
| M 17Omega Nebula | Nebula | 8.5 h | 71° |
| M 27Dumbbell Nebula | Planetary nebula | 2.2 h | 32° |
| NGC 7009new this monthSaturn Nebula | Planetary nebula | 8.2 h | 66° |
| M 20Trifid Nebula | Nebula | 8.5 h | 78° |
| NGC 6302Bug Nebula | Planetary nebula | 8.2 h | 88° |
| NGC 6188Fighting Dragons of Ara | Nebula | 8.2 h | 76° |
| NGC 6334Cat's Paw Nebula | Supernova remnant | 8.3 h | 89° |
| NGC 6357Lobster Nebula | Cluster with nebula | 8.3 h | 89° |
3 more nebulae
Star clusters 36
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| M 7Ptolemy's Cluster | Open cluster | 8.8 h | 90° |
| M 6Butterfly Cluster | Open cluster | 8.5 h | 87° |
| M 11Wild Duck Cluster | Open cluster | 7.5 h | 61° |
| NGC 6231 | Open cluster | 8.0 h | 83° |
| M 25 | Open cluster | 8.8 h | 74° |
| M 10 | Globular cluster | 6.5 h | 59° |
| NGC 6397 | Globular cluster | 9.3 h | 71° |
| M 23 | Open cluster | 8.3 h | 74° |
| M 19 | Globular cluster | 7.7 h | 81° |
| M 14 | Globular cluster | 7.2 h | 58° |
26 more star clusters
| Target | Type | Dark hours above 30° | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| M 21 | Open cluster | 8.5 h | 77° |
| M 12 | Globular cluster | 6.3 h | 57° |
| M 71 | Globular cluster | 3.7 h | 36° |
| M 22 | Globular cluster | 9.2 h | 79° |
| M 15 | Globular cluster | 5.2 h | 43° |
| M 2new this month | Globular cluster | 7.0 h | 56° |
| NGC 6752 | Globular cluster | 11.0 h | 65° |
| M 55 | Globular cluster | 9.8 h | 86° |
| M 18 | Open cluster | 8.5 h | 72° |
| M 28 | Globular cluster | 9.0 h | 80° |
| M 30new this month | Globular cluster | 8.0 h | 78° |
| NGC 6541 | Globular cluster | 9.3 h | 81° |
| M 62 | Globular cluster | 7.8 h | 85° |
| M 54 | Globular cluster | 9.7 h | 85° |
| M 69 | Globular cluster | 9.3 h | 87° |
| M 75 | Globular cluster | 9.0 h | 77° |
| M 9 | Globular cluster | 7.7 h | 74° |
| M 107 | Globular cluster | 6.7 h | 68° |
| M 26 | Open cluster | 8.0 h | 64° |
| NGC 6352 | Globular cluster | 8.8 h | 77° |
| M 72new this month | Globular cluster | 8.2 h | 68° |
| M 70 | Globular cluster | 9.5 h | 87° |
| NGC 6934 | Globular cluster | 6.0 h | 48° |
| NGC 6101 | Globular cluster | 9.0 h | 53° |
| NGC 7006 | Globular cluster | 4.5 h | 39° |
| NGC 6193 | Open cluster | 8.2 h | 76° |
Filters for July's nebulae
25 of July's picks are emission nebulae, including the North America Nebula, the Western Veil (Witch's Broom), the Eastern Veil. 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 July 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.