Suggested Searches

October

These night-sky objects are visible in October. We invite you to find them and compare your view to Hubble's!

The Milky Way above Devil's Tower National Monument.
NPS / Damon Joyce

Hubble's Night Sky Challenge is a year-round observing adventure for amateur astronomers to commemorate 35 years of Hubble science and discoveries. This challenge can also serve as a guide for star parties. Below, you’ll find a list of Messier and Caldwell night sky targets visible during October that Hubble has imaged over the years for both Northern and Southern Hemisphere observers.

Helpful Tips

  • Some objects may be visible from most locations on Earth, while others are only visible at specific latitudes and may not be accessible for those in other parts of the world. This page has two lists of recommended targets: one for the Northern Hemisphere and another for the Southern Hemisphere. For best results, we recommend using the list that corresponds to the part of the world you live in.
  • If the name of the object starts with an "M," it's part of the Messier catalog; names that start with "C" are part of the Caldwell catalog.
  • A difficulty scale of 1-3 denotes how easy an object is to find: 1 is the easiest and 3 the hardest. The easiest targets for each hemisphere are listed first, and the most difficult ones are listed last.

Northern Hemisphere Objects

These night sky objects are visible to viewers in the Northern Hemisphere.

A Hubble image of a ball of thousands of stars

M2

Object Type: Globular Cluster
Difficulty: 1

Thousands of mostly white and yellowish stars in a globular cluster.

M30

Object Type: Globular Cluster
Difficulty: 2

Light blue dust and gas forms an egg shaped shell surrounding a bright white star in the center. There is an outer shell as well, also light blue, with some pink on the edges.

C22: Blue Snowball Nebula

Object Type: Planetary Nebula
Difficulty: 2

This nebula resembles an eye, with the "pupil" immediately around the star appearing a light blue, the "iris" fading into a mixture of blue, orange, and red with a yellow-orange ring around it, and the sclera appearing bright red-orange.

C63: Helix Nebula

Object Type: Planetary Nebula
Difficulty: 2

Red cloud of dust with a bright white star in the center of it. Lots of reddish and orangish stars in the background.

C2: Bow Tie Nebula

Object Type: Planetary Nebula
Difficulty: 3

The pinkish-brown disk of a spiral galaxy, viewed from head-on and looking like a straight line, stretches across the picture. The center of the galaxy is glowing white and looks spherical, and a white glow radiates outward from it, encompassing the whole galactic disk.

C43: Little Sombrero

Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 3

Southern Hemisphere Objects

These night sky objects are visible to viewers in the Southern Hemisphere.

A Hubble image of a ball of thousands of stars

M2

Object Type: Globular Cluster
Difficulty: 1

c106-1

C106: 47 Tucanae

Object Type: Globular Cluster
Difficulty: 1

Thousands of mostly white and yellowish stars in a globular cluster.

M30

Object Type: Globular Cluster
Difficulty: 2

Light blue dust and gas forms an egg shaped shell surrounding a bright white star in the center. There is an outer shell as well, also light blue, with some pink on the edges.

C22: Blue Snowball Nebula

Object Type: Planetary Nebula
Difficulty: 2

This nebula resembles an eye, with the "pupil" immediately around the star appearing a light blue, the "iris" fading into a mixture of blue, orange, and red with a yellow-orange ring around it, and the sclera appearing bright red-orange.

C63: Helix Nebula

Object Type: Planetary Nebula
Difficulty: 2

The pinkish-brown disk of a spiral galaxy, viewed from head-on and looking like a straight line, stretches across the picture. The center of the galaxy is glowing white and looks spherical, and a white glow radiates outward from it, encompassing the whole galactic disk.

C43: Little Sombrero

Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 3