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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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All Constellations »  Ursa Major »  Deep Sky Objects » 

Messier 97 (Owl Nebula) - Planetary Nebula in Ursa Major

Altitude: 16.5°   Azimuth: 360.0°   Direction: North

Messier 97 is a Planetary Nebula in the Ursa Major constellation. Messier 97 is situated north of the celestial equator and, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere.

The image below is a photograph of Messier 97 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 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins).

Image of Messier 97 (Owl Nebula) - Planetary Nebula in Ursa Major star
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DSS2 image of Messier 97 in the Red band. The green region on the image is a representation of the major (2.83 arcmin) and minor (2.83 arcmin) axes of the object's apparent size.

Key facts about Messier 97

Messier 97
Planetary Nebula
Ursa Major

Messier 97 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 16.5°
Azimuth: 360.0°
Direction: North

See also Messier 97 rise and set times.

Given its visual magnitude of 9.9, Messier 97 is visible with the help of a binocular with a 80mm aperture or a small telescope.

Available Resources for Messier 97 (Owl Nebula) - Planetary Nebula in Ursa Major

Photometric information of Messier 97

The following table lists the magnitude of Messier 97 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).

11.6
9.9
16.71

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

Apparent size of Messier 97

The following table reports Messier 97 apparent angular size. The green area displayed on top of the DSS2 image of Messier 97 is a visual representation of it.
2.83 arcmin
2.83 arcmin

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Messier 97

Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox of Messier 97 are provided in the following table:

11h 14m 48s
+55° 01’ 08”

The simplified sky charts below show the position of Messier 97 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 97 (Owl Nebula) - Planetary Nebula in Ursa Major star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 97 (Owl Nebula) - Planetary Nebula in Ursa Major.

Finder chart Messier 97 (Owl Nebula) - Planetary Nebula in Ursa Major star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 97 (Owl Nebula) - Planetary Nebula in Ursa Major.

Rise and set times of Messier 97 from your location

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

Messier 97 (Owl Nebula) - Planetary Nebula in Ursa Major is circumpolar and transits at 23:22 UTC (altitude: 86.5°)