What to image in August with the Celestron Origin
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 gets a solid image of 39 of them in under an hour each; 10 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 | 7 min44 subs |
| Wild Duck ClusterScutum | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| M15Pegasus | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 7 min40 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 | 9 min52 subs |
| Sagittarius Star CloudSagittarius | Star cloud | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min37 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 | 5 min30 subs |
| M29Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| M30Capricornus | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 8 min49 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 |
| M55Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 10 min59 subs |
| Ring NebulaLyra | Planetary nebula | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| M69Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 12 min71 subs |
| M70Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 11 min68 subs |
| Blinking PlanetaryCygnus | Planetary nebula | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 8 min49 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 | 8 min49 subs |
| M75Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min31 subs | 13 min78 subs |
| M71Sagitta | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min31 subs | 13 min79 subs |
| Dumbbell NebulaVulpecula | Planetary nebula | 5 min30 subs | 7 min44 subs | 19 min116 subs |
| Lagoon NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 5 min30 subs | 7 min45 subs | 21 min126 subs |
| M54Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 8 min46 subs | 21 min125 subs |
| Omega NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 5 min30 subs | 9 min52 subs | 24 min143 subs |
| M56Lyra | Globular cluster | 5 min32 subs | 11 min65 subs | 30 min179 subs |
| Trifid NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 8 min49 subs | 18 min107 subs | 51 min308 subs |
| M72Aquarius | Globular cluster | 9 min55 subs | 19 min114 subs | 53 min319 subs |
| Eagle NebulaSerpens | Emission nebula | 11 min67 subs | 25 min151 subs | 1 h 14 min442 subs |
| Iris NebulaCepheus | Reflection nebula | 13 min79 subs | 30 min180 subs | 1 h 28 min530 subs |
| Eastern Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 14 min86 subs | 33 min197 subs | 1 h 37 min580 subs |
| NGC 7331Pegasus | Galaxy | 15 min90 subs | 34 min202 subs | 1 h 38 min588 subs |
| North America NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 16 min94 subs | 36 min215 subs | 1 h 46 min635 subs |
| Western Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 17 min102 subs | 39 min235 subs | 1 h 56 min696 subs |
| Pelican NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 22 min131 subs | 51 min307 subs | 2 h 32 min914 subs |
| Helix NebulaAquarius | Planetary nebula | 22 min131 subs | 51 min307 subs | 2 h 32 min914 subs |
| Elephant's Trunk NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 26 min156 subs | 1 h 01 min367 subs | 3 h 03 min1,097 subs |
| Wizard NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 26 min156 subs | 1 h 01 min367 subs | 3 h 03 min1,097 subs |
| Tulip NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 26 min156 subs | 1 h 01 min367 subs | 3 h 03 min1,097 subs |
| NGC 6781Aquila | Planetary nebula | 30 min178 subs | 1 h 07 min405 subs | 3 h 18 min1,191 subs |
| Crescent NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 31 min185 subs | 1 h 13 min439 subs | 3 h 39 min1,316 subs |
| Bubble NebulaCassiopeia | Emission nebula | 31 min185 subs | 1 h 13 min439 subs | 3 h 39 min1,316 subs |
| Cocoon NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 32 min194 subs | 1 h 16 min458 subs | 3 h 48 min1,371 subs |
| Fireworks GalaxyCygnus | Galaxy | 35 min212 subs | 1 h 23 min500 subs | 4 h 09 min1,495 subs |
| NGC 6914Cygnus | Reflection nebula | 41 min249 subs | 1 h 36 min577 subs | 4 h 46 min1,714 subs |
| Cave NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 43 min261 subs | 1 h 45 min628 subs | 5 h 16 min1,896 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 Mark II
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