M83 tonight?

[miguel87]

As part of my quest to sketch all 110 messier objects, I have been trying to plan ahead especially for some that might pass me by.

On that theme, what are my odds of catching M83 tonight from south wales or is there a better time of year?

Thanks,

Mike

[Ships and Stars]

Oh that one's pretty low - I just used Stellarium, haven't seen M83 before. I just checked now and it's only about 8 deg above the horizon max around 10:50pm. Not sure if earlier/later in the year changes this much? 

[Waddensky]

Messier 83 can be tough at low altitudes. It was my last unseen Messier IIRC and I tried many times before I actually observed it (it never climbs higher than about 7 degrees from my location). The core is quite bright, it appears almost star-like, so that's the thing to look for: a fuzzy star.

It still is a good time to observe the galaxy, although the time of culminations slowly drifts into the evening twilight making it harder to observe as days go by. Good luck!