What to image in August
The summer nebulae at their best in the evening: the North America and Pelican, the Veil, the Crescent and the Eagle. Dark from about 22:00 at British latitudes again. The Perseids give a night to skip imaging and just look up.
Moon in August 2027: new on 2 Aug and 31 Aug, full on 17 Aug. Broadband targets (galaxies, clusters) want the week either side of new; emission nebulae behind a dual-band filter tolerate the rest.
By telescope
- August with the ZWO Seestar S50
- August with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro
- August with the ZWO Seestar S30
- August with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro
- August with the DwarfLab DWARF 3
- August with the DwarfLab DWARF mini
- August with the DwarfLab Draco
- August with the DwarfLab DWARF II
- August with the Vaonis Vespera II
- August with the Vaonis Vespera Pro
- August with the Vaonis Vespera 3
- August with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2
- August with the Unistellar eQuinox 2
- August with the Unistellar Odyssey
- August with the Celestron Origin
- August with the Celestron Origin Mark II
August's targets, Seestar S50 baseline
| Target | Type | Bortle 4 | Bortle 6 | Bortle 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Duck ClusterScutum | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min36 subs |
| M18Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 9 min56 subs |
| M21Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min39 subs |
| M25Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M26Scutum | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M39Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M52Cassiopeia | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min39 subs |
| Caroline's RoseCassiopeia | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M29Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| NGC 6939Cepheus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M28Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min38 subs | 14 min87 subs |
| Ring NebulaLyra | Planetary nebula | 6 min37 subs | 7 min42 subs | 10 min60 subs |
| Sagittarius Star CloudSagittarius | Star cloud | 5 min31 subs | 9 min53 subs | 22 min131 subs |
| M15Pegasus | Globular cluster | 5 min33 subs | 10 min58 subs | 24 min144 subs |
| Blinking PlanetaryCygnus | Planetary nebula | 9 min53 subs | 10 min62 subs | 15 min93 subs |
| Saturn NebulaAquarius | Planetary nebula | 9 min53 subs | 10 min62 subs | 15 min93 subs |
| M2Aquarius | Globular cluster | 6 min36 subs | 10 min63 subs | 26 min156 subs |
| M30Capricornus | Globular cluster | 7 min41 subs | 12 min71 subs | 29 min174 subs |
| M22Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 7 min42 subs | 12 min74 subs | 31 min187 subs |
| M55Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 8 min46 subs | 14 min83 subs | 35 min211 subs |
| M70Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 9 min57 subs | 16 min99 subs | 40 min243 subs |
| M69Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 9 min57 subs | 17 min101 subs | 42 min254 subs |
| M75Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 11 min66 subs | 19 min114 subs | 46 min279 subs |
| M71Sagitta | Globular cluster | 11 min66 subs | 19 min115 subs | 47 min282 subs |
| Lagoon NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 16 min94 subs | 20 min119 subs | 34 min205 subs |
| Dumbbell NebulaVulpecula | Planetary nebula | 16 min99 subs | 20 min121 subs | 33 min198 subs |
| Omega NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 18 min110 subs | 23 min138 subs | 39 min236 subs |
| M54Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 15 min90 subs | 28 min171 subs | 1 h 15 min451 subs |
| M56Lyra | Globular cluster | 21 min128 subs | 41 min244 subs | 1 h 47 min645 subs |
| Trifid NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 33 min200 subs | 44 min263 subs | 1 h 20 min480 subs |
| Eagle NebulaSerpens | Emission nebula | 46 min275 subs | 1 h 01 min366 subs | 1 h 53 min680 subs |
| M72Aquarius | Globular cluster | 37 min220 subs | 1 h 11 min429 subs | 3 h 12 min1,150 subs |
| Eastern Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 58 min351 subs | 1 h 18 min471 subs | 2 h 27 min884 subs |
| North America NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 03 min381 subs | 1 h 25 min512 subs | 2 h 41 min965 subs |
| Western Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 1 h 09 min414 subs | 1 h 33 min557 subs | 2 h 56 min1,054 subs |
| Iris NebulaCepheus | Reflection nebula | 54 min325 subs | 1 h 53 min681 subs | 5 h 19 min1,913 subs |
| Pelican NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 28 min530 subs | 2 h720 subs | 3 h 49 min1,375 subs |
| Helix NebulaAquarius | Planetary nebula | 1 h 28 min530 subs | 2 h720 subs | 3 h 49 min1,375 subs |
| NGC 7331Pegasus | Galaxy | 1 h 01 min368 subs | 2 h 07 min762 subs | 5 h 53 min2,121 subs |
| Elephant's Trunk NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 1 h 44 min627 subs | 2 h 22 min855 subs | 4 h 34 min1,642 subs |
| Wizard NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 1 h 44 min627 subs | 2 h 22 min855 subs | 4 h 34 min1,642 subs |
| Tulip NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 44 min627 subs | 2 h 22 min855 subs | 4 h 34 min1,642 subs |
| NGC 6781Aquila | Planetary nebula | 2 h 01 min728 subs | 2 h 42 min973 subs | 5 h 03 min1,821 subs |
| Crescent NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 2 h 04 min742 subs | 2 h 49 min1,016 subs | 5 h 27 min1,963 subs |
| Bubble NebulaCassiopeia | Emission nebula | 2 h 04 min742 subs | 2 h 49 min1,016 subs | 5 h 27 min1,963 subs |
| Cocoon NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 2 h 10 min783 subs | 2 h 58 min1,068 subs | 5 h 42 min2,053 subs |
| Cave NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 2 h 54 min1,043 subs | 4 h1,439 subs | 7 h 48 min2,807 subs |
| Fireworks GalaxyCygnus | Galaxy | 2 h 26 min878 subs | 5 h 15 min1,893 subs | 15 h5,401 subs |
| NGC 6914Cygnus | Reflection nebula | 2 h 51 min1,026 subs | 6 h 04 min2,185 subs | 17 h6,190 subs |
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