Messier 39 is an open cluster in Cygnus, 965 light-years away
Messier 39 (M39, NGC 7092, MWSC 3521) is an open cluster in the constellation Cygnus , 965 light-years away. It shines at magnitude 4.6 and spans 29′ of sky, about 8.1 light-years across. It is visible to the naked eye from a dark site, and it is highest in the evening sky in September.
Open cluster: a loose group of a few dozen to a few thousand young stars born together from one cloud of gas. They drift apart over a few hundred million years and lie in the disk of the Milky Way.
Finding Messier 39 from Deneb
Deneb
Messier 39
CYGNUS
Messier 39 lies 9.2° northeast of Deneb , the magnitude 1.2 star. A fist held at arm's length covers about 10°.
Messier 39 is highest in the evening in September
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60°N
JAN at 60°N: 34° high at 9 pm FEB at 60°N: 24° high at 9 pm MAR at 60°N: 19° high at 9 pm APR at 60°N: 19° high at 9 pm MAY at 60°N: 24° high at 9 pm JUN at 60°N: 34° high at 9 pm JUL at 60°N: 47° high at 9 pm AUG at 60°N: 62° high at 9 pm SEP at 60°N: 76° high at 9 pm OCT at 60°N: 75° high at 9 pm NOV at 60°N: 61° high at 9 pm DEC at 60°N: 47° high at 9 pm 50°N
JAN at 50°N: 27° high at 9 pm FEB at 50°N: 15° high at 9 pm MAR at 50°N: 9° high at 9 pm APR at 50°N: 9° high at 9 pm MAY at 50°N: 16° high at 9 pm JUN at 50°N: 28° high at 9 pm JUL at 50°N: 43° high at 9 pm AUG at 50°N: 61° high at 9 pm SEP at 50°N: 81° high at 9 pm OCT at 50°N: 80° high at 9 pm NOV at 50°N: 60° high at 9 pm DEC at 50°N: 43° high at 9 pm 40°N
JAN at 40°N: 20° high at 9 pm FEB at 40°N: 6° high at 9 pm MAR at 40°N: -1° high at 9 pm APR at 40°N: -1° high at 9 pm MAY at 40°N: 7° high at 9 pm JUN at 40°N: 21° high at 9 pm JUL at 40°N: 38° high at 9 pm AUG at 40°N: 58° high at 9 pm SEP at 40°N: 77° high at 9 pm OCT at 40°N: 76° high at 9 pm NOV at 40°N: 56° high at 9 pm DEC at 40°N: 37° high at 9 pm 30°N
JAN at 30°N: 12° high at 9 pm FEB at 30°N: -3° high at 9 pm MAR at 30°N: -10° high at 9 pm APR at 30°N: -10° high at 9 pm MAY at 30°N: -2° high at 9 pm JUN at 30°N: 13° high at 9 pm JUL at 30°N: 32° high at 9 pm AUG at 30°N: 52° high at 9 pm SEP at 30°N: 69° high at 9 pm OCT at 30°N: 68° high at 9 pm NOV at 30°N: 50° high at 9 pm DEC at 30°N: 31° high at 9 pm 20°N
JAN at 20°N: 4° high at 9 pm FEB at 20°N: -12° high at 9 pm MAR at 20°N: -20° high at 9 pm APR at 20°N: -20° high at 9 pm MAY at 20°N: -11° high at 9 pm JUN at 20°N: 6° high at 9 pm JUL at 20°N: 25° high at 9 pm AUG at 20°N: 45° high at 9 pm SEP at 20°N: 59° high at 9 pm OCT at 20°N: 59° high at 9 pm NOV at 20°N: 43° high at 9 pm DEC at 20°N: 24° high at 9 pm 10°N
JAN at 10°N: -3° high at 9 pm FEB at 10°N: -20° high at 9 pm MAR at 10°N: -30° high at 9 pm APR at 10°N: -30° high at 9 pm MAY at 10°N: -19° high at 9 pm JUN at 10°N: -2° high at 9 pm JUL at 10°N: 17° high at 9 pm AUG at 10°N: 37° high at 9 pm SEP at 10°N: 50° high at 9 pm OCT at 10°N: 49° high at 9 pm NOV at 10°N: 36° high at 9 pm DEC at 10°N: 17° high at 9 pm 0°
JAN at 0°: -11° high at 9 pm FEB at 0°: -29° high at 9 pm MAR at 0°: -40° high at 9 pm APR at 0°: -40° high at 9 pm MAY at 0°: -28° high at 9 pm JUN at 0°: -10° high at 9 pm JUL at 0°: 10° high at 9 pm AUG at 0°: 28° high at 9 pm SEP at 0°: 40° high at 9 pm OCT at 0°: 40° high at 9 pm NOV at 0°: 27° high at 9 pm DEC at 0°: 9° high at 9 pm 10°S
JAN at 10°S: -18° high at 9 pm FEB at 10°S: -38° high at 9 pm MAR at 10°S: -49° high at 9 pm APR at 10°S: -49° high at 9 pm MAY at 10°S: -36° high at 9 pm JUN at 10°S: -17° high at 9 pm JUL at 10°S: 2° high at 9 pm AUG at 10°S: 20° high at 9 pm SEP at 10°S: 30° high at 9 pm OCT at 10°S: 30° high at 9 pm NOV at 10°S: 19° high at 9 pm DEC at 10°S: 2° high at 9 pm 20°S
JAN at 20°S: -26° high at 9 pm FEB at 20°S: -45° high at 9 pm MAR at 20°S: -59° high at 9 pm APR at 20°S: -59° high at 9 pm MAY at 20°S: -44° high at 9 pm JUN at 20°S: -24° high at 9 pm JUL at 20°S: -5° high at 9 pm AUG at 20°S: 11° high at 9 pm SEP at 20°S: 20° high at 9 pm OCT at 20°S: 20° high at 9 pm NOV at 20°S: 10° high at 9 pm DEC at 20°S: -6° high at 9 pm 30°S
JAN at 30°S: -33° high at 9 pm FEB at 30°S: -53° high at 9 pm MAR at 30°S: -68° high at 9 pm APR at 30°S: -68° high at 9 pm MAY at 30°S: -51° high at 9 pm JUN at 30°S: -31° high at 9 pm JUL at 30°S: -13° high at 9 pm AUG at 30°S: 2° high at 9 pm SEP at 30°S: 11° high at 9 pm OCT at 30°S: 10° high at 9 pm NOV at 30°S: 1° high at 9 pm DEC at 30°S: -14° high at 9 pm 40°S
JAN at 40°S: -39° high at 9 pm FEB at 40°S: -59° high at 9 pm MAR at 40°S: -76° high at 9 pm APR at 40°S: -76° high at 9 pm MAY at 40°S: -57° high at 9 pm JUN at 40°S: -37° high at 9 pm JUL at 40°S: -20° high at 9 pm AUG at 40°S: -7° high at 9 pm SEP at 40°S: 1° high at 9 pm OCT at 40°S: 0° high at 9 pm NOV at 40°S: -7° high at 9 pm DEC at 40°S: -21° high at 9 pm
below horizon
low
20-40°
40-60°
overhead-ish
The chart gives its height above the horizon at 9 pm through the year, from 60°N to 40°S. It can be seen from the whole northern hemisphere and south to about 42°S, and never sets north of 42°N.
Messier 39 is 965 light-years away
The light seen from Messier 39 tonight left it about 965 years ago, around 1061 AD. It ranks 4 of 109 by distance among the 110 Messier objects. Distance source: Gaia DR3, Hunt and Reffert 2023.
Objects within 6° of Messier 39
NGC 7062, open cluster, 2.5° NGC 7086, open cluster, 3.2° C19 Cocoon Nebula, diffuse nebula, 3.8° NGC 7128, open cluster, 5.6° NGC 7209, open cluster, 6.0°
Messier 39 catalog data
Field Value
Designations M39, NGC 7092, MWSC 3521 Type open cluster Constellation Cygnus Right ascension (J2000) 21h 31.8m Declination (J2000) +48° 26′ Magnitude 4.6 Apparent size 29′ True size 8.1 light-years Distance 965 light-years (Gaia DR3, Hunt and Reffert 2023) Best month September Best with Naked eye Messier marathon order 74
