Nebula · Orion

Messier 78

M78 · NGC 2068

Above the horizon after darkHighest after dark 05:17 · south · 38°

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Where is Messier 78?

Times for LondonChange city

Look south, about 38° up at 05:17 in Orion. It rises at 23:46 and climbs through the night.

From London tonight, Messier 78 is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest just before dawn, around 05:17, in the south at 38°.

At magnitude 8.0, with its light spread out, it needs a telescope and a dark sky.

This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.

Not visible

Too faint to see by eye.

A soft, gray glow.

Gray-green glow, with more structure in larger telescopes. Color shows only in photos.

What you’re likely to see, not what a space telescope photographs. General guidance from catalog brightness and size, not a forecast for tonight.

Messier 78 (M78) is a nebula in Orion, with a total brightness of magnitude 8.0 and an apparent size of 4.5′.

Sources: OpenNGC (CC BY-SA 4.0); star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences