Major Constellations Watching

Legal hour correction adjust Const. R.A. h. 22 h. 23 h. 0 h. 3 hight best Lat. S. Tau 4h 40m Jan 4 Dec 20 Dec 6 Oct 21 *** 15°N W I N T E R Ori 5h 36m Jan 21 Jan 5 Dec 21 Nov 5 ** 0° Aur 5h 40m Jan 15 Dec 30 Dec 16 Oct 31 **** 40°N CMa 6h 50m Feb 6 Jan 22 Jan 7 Nov 22 * 20°S Gem 7h 00m Feb 21 Feb 6 Jan 23 Dec 8 *** 30°N CMi 7h 30m Feb 20 Feb 5 Jan 21 Dec 6 ** 5°N Cnc 8h 45m Mar 3 Feb 22 Feb 7 Dec 24 *** 20°N Leo 10h 40m Mar 30 Mar 13 Feb 29 Jan 14 *** 10°N S P R I N G UMa 10h 40m Apr 22 Apr 7 Mar 24 Feb 5 *** 35°N Com 12h 40m May 4 Apr 18 Apr 4 Feb 18 *** 30°N Vir 13h 30m May 19 May 3 Apr 19 Mar 4 ** 5°S Boo 14h 30m Jun 1 May 16 May 2 Mar 16 *** 25°N UMi 15h 30m Jun 17 Jun 2 May 18 Apr 2 ** 80°N CrB 15h 55m Jun 20 Jun 5 May 22 Apr 6 *** 25°N Sco 16h 50m Jul 4 Jun 19 Jun 5 Apr 20 * 30°S S U M M E R Oph 17h 10m Jul 14 Jun 29 Jun 15 Apr 30 ** 0° Dra 18h 00m Jul 20 Jul 5 Jun 21 May 6 *** 65°N Sgr 18h 36m Aug 2 Jul 18 Jul 4 May 19 * 30°S Lyr 18h 50m Aug 5 Jul 21 Jul 7 May 22 **** 35°N Aql 19h 40m Aug 24 Aug 9 Jul 26 Jun 9 ** 5°N Cyg 20h 20m Sep 6 Aug 22 Aug 8 Jun 22 **** 40°N Cep 22h 10m Sep 28 Sep 13 Aug 30 Jul 7 *** 65°N A U T U M N Peg 22h 40m Oct 12 Sep 27 Sep 13 Jul 29 *** 30°N Cas 1h 00m Nov 10 Oct 26 Oct 11 Aug 26 *** 60°N And 1h 00m Nov 6 Oct 22 Oct 8 Aug 23 **** 40°N Cet 1h 45m Nov 23 Nov 8 Oct 25 Sep 9 ** 0° Ari 2h 30m Nov 27 Nov 12 Oct 29 Sep 13 *** 20°N Per 3h 30m Dec 17 Dec 2 Nov 18 Oct 2 **** 45°N

Every constellation, like the Sun, rises and sets. The best moment in which you can look for it is when it transits your meridian and it is very high in the sky. That is the moment in which you have less spanning atmosphere and less light pollution. Only in these conditions you can see open clusters, globular clusters, bright nebulae and galaxies (Andromeda only) with the naked eye or by a small binocular (7x or 8x). In the table are shown the dates and the hours in which the constellations are at their best, but if you suffer from insomnia you can look for much more during night because other constellations rise. The dates shown are astronomically accurate but there is no substantial difference ten days earlier or later. If you analyse the table you can easily understand that a constellation "stand" in the same position 15 days later and 1 hour earlier, that means that the day after you can find it in the same position 4 minutes earlier, so your observation can last months. The only limitation is sun light. In the column "best Lat." is indicated the Latitude in which a Constellation is straight on your head (at the zenith), so, on January 5, if you like to travel you can look for a wonderful Orion near Nairobi or Singapore..., it would be worth while...

The table below shows the visibility of the constellations all over the year and it's referring to local time 0.00. Yellow boundary sectors are referring to 45°N, whatever Longitude. Boundary sectors can change more or less according to travel North or South.