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Sky-Tonight.com / Nebulae and Deep-Sky Objects / M66

M66 Position and Visibility Tonight

Where is M66 right now?

M66 is located in the constellation Leo. It is currently below the horizon and is not visible from your location.

Open the interactive guide to M66’s position and path tonight

M66 visibility on 2026-10-03

M66 Visible from early morning until sunrise

M66 rise and set timetable

	Time	Elevation
M66 transit	09:42	66°
M66 set	16:21
Astronomical observing session begins	18:15	-20°
Moonrise, 56.5% illuminated	21:14	-39°
M66 rise	02:58
Astronomical observing session ends	03:38	8°
Twilight end (−12°)	04:08	14°
Civil sunrise	04:39	20°
Sunrise	05:06	25°
Moonset	12:53	40°

Track M66 position throughout the night

← 3 October 2026 →

Time
Altitude
Azimuth

Shift the map to change the time and observe M66 changing position in the night sky.

M66 - Spiral Galaxy

M66 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. M66 is part of the Leo Triplet, a group of three interacting spiral galaxies.

M66 spans about 95,000 light-years across and contains a massive population of stars, gas, and dust. The galaxy is approximately 36 million light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 8.9, making it visible with a small telescope.

M66 — Image Gallery

DSS Blue

Blue images highlight younger, hotter stars that emit strongly at blue wavelengths.

DSS Red

Red images reveal older, cooler stars and emission nebulae glowing strongly in hydrogen-alpha light.

DSS Near-Infrared

Near-infrared images penetrate dust that obscures visible light and reveal hidden structures.

DSS Composite Image

DSS color images combine blue, red and often near-infrared exposures into a composite view.

The images come from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under contract with NASA, using data from UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), European Southern Observatory (ESO), National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).

Special thanks to National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.

Finder Chart for M66

Open the step-by-step guide Open the full sky map

M66 Passage Through Night

Double-click to unlock the map.

Current position of M66

Time	18:16
Latitude	37.3541
Longitude	-121.955
Elevation	-20°
Azimuth	306°

Here you can see the current position of M66 on the map, as well as its positions for rise and set. This tool lets you track its movement throughout the night with accurate, up-to-date information.

When Is M66 Visible Throughout the Year?

M66 will become visible again around October 20 after moving far enough from the Sun.

Date	Sun, 4 October 2026
Astronomical observing session begins	18:13
Astronomical observing session ends	03:36
Astronomical observing duration	9h 23m
Rise	02:58
Set	16:17
Elevation at transit	66°
Transit time	09:38
Equatorial coordinates	RA: 11h 20m 14s", Dec: 12° 59' 29s
Magnitude	9
Constellation	Leo

The graph illustrates the annual visibility pattern of M66, including its daily appearances and transit times. The vertical axis shows the hours of the day and the horizontal axis spans the year. The reddish area marks when the object is above the horizon, while the white line marks its daily transit.
You can also see when M66 is visible throughout the year in a table with exact rise, transit, and set times for each date.

Astrometric and Physical Parameters of M66

Coordinates and Visibility

Right Ascension	11h 20m 15s
Declination	12° 59′ 30″
Magnitude	8.92
Constellation	Leo
Elevation	-20.5°
Azimuth	305.9°

Data Credits

The deep-sky information on this page comes from the OpenNGC project developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed catalog data for nebulae, galaxies, clusters and other deep-sky objects.

For details or contributions, visit the official repository: OpenNGC GitHub.

Observation Settings