We use cookies to deliver essential features and to measure their performance. By using this site you accept our Privacy Policies.
Help keep this site free and ads-free: donate now!
A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
public LocationGreenwich, United Kingdom
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 5:29 
Transit: 12:55 
Sunset: 20:22
wb_twilight   (Civil Twilight)   What's Visible Now?
All Constellations »  Sagittarius »  Deep Sky Objects » 

Messier 24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud) - Association of Stars in Sagittarius

Altitude: 19.0°   Azimuth: 193.9°   Direction: South-South-West

Messier 24 is a Association of Stars in the Sagittarius constellation. Messier 24 is situated close to the celestial equator and, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year.

The image below is a photograph of Messier 24 from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 4x4 degrees (240x240 arcmins).

Image of Messier 24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud) - Association of Stars in Sagittarius star
/>
DSS2 image of Messier 24 in the Red band. The green region on the image is a representation of the major (120 arcmin) and minor (60 arcmin) axes of the object's apparent size.

Key facts about Messier 24

Messier 24
Association of Stars
Sagittarius

Messier 24 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.

Altitude: 19.0°
Azimuth: 193.9°
Direction: South-South-West

See also Messier 24 rise and set times.

Given its visual magnitude of 4.5, Messier 24 is barely visible to the naked eye, easily visible with the help of a small binocular.

Available Resources for Messier 24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud) - Association of Stars in Sagittarius

Photometric information of Messier 24

The following table lists the magnitude of Messier 24 in different bands of the electomagnetic spectrum (when available), from the B band (445nm wavelength, corresponding to the Blue color), to the V band ( 551nm wavelength, corresponding to Green/Yellow color), to the J, H, K bands (corresponding to 1220nm, 1630nm, 2190nm wavelengths respectively, which are colors not visible to the human eye).

4.5

For more information about photometry in astronomy, check the photometric system article on Wikipedia.

Apparent size of Messier 24

The following table reports Messier 24 apparent angular size. The green area displayed on top of the DSS2 image of Messier 24 is a visual representation of it.
120 arcmin
60 arcmin

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Messier 24

Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox of Messier 24 are provided in the following table:

18h 16m 55s
-18° 30’ 51”

The simplified sky charts below show the position of Messier 24 in the sky. The first chart has a field of view of 60° while the second one has a field of view of 10°.

Finder chart Messier 24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud) - Association of Stars in Sagittarius star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud) - Association of Stars in Sagittarius.

Finder chart Messier 24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud) - Association of Stars in Sagittarius star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud) - Association of Stars in Sagittarius.

Rise and set times of Messier 24 from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's Messier 24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud) - Association of Stars in Sagittarius rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 108.5°
Max altitude: 20.0°
Azimuth: 251.5°