Sky Tonight

Santa Clara, US
37.4°/-122°
GMT -9

⌕

☾

Sky-Tonight.com / Nebulae and Deep-Sky Objects / NGC6871

NGC6871 Position and Visibility Tonight

Where is NGC6871 right now?

NGC6871 is located in the constellation Cygnus. It is currently above the horizon at an altitude of 46° toward the north-west, with an apparent magnitude of 5.20.
Twilight begins at 22:08 local time. At that moment, NGC6871 will be 46° above the horizon toward the north-west.

Open the interactive guide to NGC6871’s position and path tonight

NGC6871 visibility on 2026-10-03

NGC6871 Visible from sunset until early morning

NGC6871 rise and set timetable

	Time	Elevation
Sunset	16:47	70°
Civil sunset	17:15	76°
Twilight start (−12°)	17:45	82°
Astronomical observing session begins	18:15	87°
NGC6871 transit	18:26	88°
Moonrise, 56.5% illuminated	21:14	56°
NGC6871 set	02:38
Astronomical observing session ends	03:38	-7°
NGC6871 rise	10:10
Moonset	12:53	26°

Track NGC6871 position throughout the night

← 3 October 2026 →

Time
Altitude
Azimuth

Shift the map to change the time and observe NGC6871 changing position in the night sky.

NGC6871 — 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 NGC6871

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

NGC6871 Passage Through Night

Double-click to unlock the map.

Current position of NGC6871

Time	22:08
Latitude	37.3541
Longitude	-121.955
Elevation	46°
Azimuth	286°

Here you can see the current position of NGC6871 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 NGC6871 Visible Throughout the Year?

NGC6871 will remain visible until January 10, when it moves too close to the Sun and temporarily disappears from the night sky.

Date	Sun, 4 October 2026
Astronomical observing session begins	18:13
Astronomical observing session ends	03:36
Astronomical observing duration	9h 23m
Rise	10:10
Set	02:34
Elevation at transit	88°
Transit time	18:22
Equatorial coordinates	RA: 20h 05m 59s", Dec: 35° 46' 38s
Magnitude	5
Constellation	Cygnus

The graph illustrates the annual visibility pattern of NGC6871, 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 NGC6871 is visible throughout the year in a table with exact rise, transit, and set times for each date.

Astrometric and Physical Parameters of NGC6871

Coordinates and Visibility

Right Ascension	20h 05m 59s
Declination	35° 46′ 38″
Magnitude	5.2
Constellation	Cygnus
Elevation	45.9°
Azimuth	285.6°

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