What to image in August with the Celestron Origin Mark II
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.
49 targets transit near midnight in August. From a suburban sky the Origin Mark II gets a solid image of 37 of them in under an hour each; 12 need longer, or a darker sky, or several nights. Times below use the recommended filter and 10 s subs.
| Target | Type | Bortle 4 | Bortle 6 | Bortle 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M2Aquarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 10 min62 subs |
| Wild Duck ClusterScutum | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| M15Pegasus | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 9 min57 subs |
| M18Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| M21Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| M22Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 12 min74 subs |
| Sagittarius Star CloudSagittarius | Star cloud | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 9 min52 subs |
| M25Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| M26Scutum | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| M28Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min35 subs |
| M29Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| M30Capricornus | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M39Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| M52Cassiopeia | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| Ring NebulaLyra | Planetary nebula | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 7 min42 subs |
| Blinking PlanetaryCygnus | Planetary nebula | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| NGC 6939Cepheus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| Caroline's RoseCassiopeia | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| Saturn NebulaAquarius | Planetary nebula | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M55Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min31 subs | 14 min83 subs |
| M70Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min37 subs | 16 min96 subs |
| M69Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min38 subs | 17 min100 subs |
| M75Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 7 min43 subs | 18 min110 subs |
| M71Sagitta | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 7 min43 subs | 18 min111 subs |
| Dumbbell NebulaVulpecula | Planetary nebula | 5 min30 subs | 10 min60 subs | 27 min164 subs |
| Lagoon NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 5 min30 subs | 10 min62 subs | 30 min178 subs |
| M54Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 10 min63 subs | 30 min178 subs |
| Omega NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs | 34 min203 subs |
| M56Lyra | Globular cluster | 7 min43 subs | 15 min90 subs | 42 min254 subs |
| Trifid NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 10 min63 subs | 24 min146 subs | 1 h 13 min436 subs |
| M72Aquarius | Globular cluster | 12 min72 subs | 26 min157 subs | 1 h 15 min452 subs |
| Eagle NebulaSerpens | Emission nebula | 14 min86 subs | 35 min208 subs | 1 h 44 min626 subs |
| Iris NebulaCepheus | Reflection nebula | 17 min102 subs | 41 min247 subs | 2 h 05 min750 subs |
| Eastern Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 18 min110 subs | 45 min270 subs | 2 h 17 min822 subs |
| NGC 7331Pegasus | Galaxy | 19 min116 subs | 46 min277 subs | 2 h 19 min832 subs |
| North America NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 20 min120 subs | 49 min295 subs | 2 h 30 min900 subs |
| Western Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 22 min130 subs | 54 min322 subs | 2 h 44 min985 subs |
| Pelican NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 28 min167 subs | 1 h 10 min420 subs | 3 h 36 min1,294 subs |
| Helix NebulaAquarius | Planetary nebula | 28 min167 subs | 1 h 10 min420 subs | 3 h 36 min1,294 subs |
| Elephant's Trunk NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 33 min198 subs | 1 h 24 min502 subs | 4 h 19 min1,553 subs |
| Wizard NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 33 min198 subs | 1 h 24 min502 subs | 4 h 19 min1,553 subs |
| Tulip NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 33 min198 subs | 1 h 24 min502 subs | 4 h 19 min1,553 subs |
| NGC 6781Aquila | Planetary nebula | 38 min228 subs | 1 h 33 min556 subs | 4 h 41 min1,688 subs |
| Crescent NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 39 min235 subs | 1 h 40 min600 subs | 5 h 11 min1,864 subs |
| Bubble NebulaCassiopeia | Emission nebula | 39 min235 subs | 1 h 40 min600 subs | 5 h 11 min1,864 subs |
| Cocoon NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 41 min247 subs | 1 h 44 min627 subs | 5 h 23 min1,941 subs |
| Fireworks GalaxyCygnus | Galaxy | 45 min270 subs | 1 h 54 min684 subs | 5 h 53 min2,118 subs |
| NGC 6914Cygnus | Reflection nebula | 53 min318 subs | 2 h 12 min791 subs | 6 h 44 min2,427 subs |
| Cave NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 55 min330 subs | 2 h 23 min859 subs | 7 h 27 min2,685 subs |
Other telescopes in August: Seestar S50 · Seestar S50 Pro · Seestar S30 · Seestar S30 Pro · DWARF 3 · DWARF mini · Draco · DWARF II · Vespera II · Vespera Pro · Vespera 3 · Vespera Pro 2 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin
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