About NGC 1039 (M34)

NGC 1039 is a rewarding deep-sky target and shows up as a faint patch of light. It is relatively bright.

Current visibility

It is currently below the horizon.

It stays above 30° for roughly 6 hours.

Observing conditions matter, contrast improves away from light pollution.

Observing tips

This makes it a good target for beginners.

What to expect

In small telescopes it remains mostly unresolved.

It is less prominent than the brightest objects in the catalog.

Type

Open Cluster

Constellation

Perseus

Distance

1400 ly

Size

35.0'

Season

Autumn

Difficulty

Easy

Magnitude

5.5