What to image in August with the DwarfLab DWARF mini
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 DWARF mini gets a solid image of 30 of them in under an hour each; 19 need longer, or a darker sky, or several nights. Times below use the recommended filter and 15 s subs.
| Target | Type | Bortle 4 | Bortle 6 | Bortle 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Duck ClusterScutum | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs |
| M18Sagittarius | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 9 min37 subs |
| M21Sagittarius | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs |
| M25Sagittarius | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs |
| M26Scutum | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs |
| M28Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 14 min58 subs |
| M29Cygnus | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 12 min48 subs |
| M39Cygnus | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs |
| M52Cassiopeia | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs |
| Ring NebulaLyra, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 10 min40 subs |
| NGC 6939Cepheus | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 12 min48 subs |
| Caroline's RoseCassiopeia | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs |
| Sagittarius Star CloudSagittarius | Star cloud | 8 min30 subs | 9 min36 subs | 22 min87 subs |
| M15Pegasus | Globular cluster | 8 min30 subs | 10 min39 subs | 24 min96 subs |
| Blinking PlanetaryCygnus, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 9 min35 subs | 10 min41 subs | 15 min62 subs |
| Saturn NebulaAquarius, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 9 min35 subs | 10 min41 subs | 15 min62 subs |
| M2Aquarius | Globular cluster | 8 min30 subs | 10 min42 subs | 26 min104 subs |
| M30Capricornus | Globular cluster | 8 min30 subs | 12 min47 subs | 29 min116 subs |
| M22Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 8 min30 subs | 12 min50 subs | 31 min125 subs |
| M55Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 8 min31 subs | 14 min55 subs | 35 min141 subs |
| M70Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 9 min38 subs | 16 min66 subs | 40 min162 subs |
| M69Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 9 min38 subs | 17 min67 subs | 42 min169 subs |
| M75Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 11 min44 subs | 19 min76 subs | 46 min186 subs |
| M71Sagitta | Globular cluster | 11 min44 subs | 19 min76 subs | 47 min188 subs |
| Lagoon NebulaSagittarius, dual-band | Emission nebula | 15 min62 subs | 19 min78 subs | 34 min136 subs |
| Dumbbell NebulaVulpecula, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 16 min65 subs | 20 min80 subs | 33 min132 subs |
| Omega NebulaSagittarius, dual-band | Emission nebula | 18 min72 subs | 23 min91 subs | 39 min157 subs |
| M54Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 15 min60 subs | 28 min114 subs | 1 h 15 min300 subs |
| M56Lyra | Globular cluster | 21 min85 subs | 40 min162 subs | 1 h 47 min429 subs |
| Trifid NebulaSagittarius, dual-band | Emission nebula | 33 min131 subs | 43 min173 subs | 1 h 19 min318 subs |
| Eagle NebulaSerpens, dual-band | Emission nebula | 45 min180 subs | 1 h241 subs | 1 h 52 min450 subs |
| M72Aquarius | Globular cluster | 36 min146 subs | 1 h 11 min285 subs | 3 h 11 min766 subs |
| Eastern Veil NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Supernova remnant | 57 min230 subs | 1 h 17 min309 subs | 2 h 26 min585 subs |
| North America NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 02 min249 subs | 1 h 24 min336 subs | 2 h 40 min639 subs |
| Western Veil NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Supernova remnant | 1 h 07 min270 subs | 1 h 31 min366 subs | 2 h 54 min697 subs |
| Iris NebulaCepheus | Reflection nebula | 54 min215 subs | 1 h 53 min452 subs | 5 h 18 min1,273 subs |
| Pelican NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 26 min346 subs | 1 h 58 min473 subs | 3 h 47 min909 subs |
| Helix NebulaAquarius, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 1 h 26 min346 subs | 1 h 58 min473 subs | 3 h 47 min909 subs |
| NGC 7331Pegasus | Galaxy | 1 h 01 min243 subs | 2 h 06 min506 subs | 5 h 53 min1,412 subs |
| Elephant's Trunk NebulaCepheus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 42 min409 subs | 2 h 20 min561 subs | 4 h 31 min1,086 subs |
| Wizard NebulaCepheus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 42 min409 subs | 2 h 20 min561 subs | 4 h 31 min1,086 subs |
| Tulip NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 42 min409 subs | 2 h 20 min561 subs | 4 h 31 min1,086 subs |
| NGC 6781Aquila, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 1 h 59 min476 subs | 2 h 40 min639 subs | 5 h 01 min1,205 subs |
| Crescent NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 2 h 01 min484 subs | 2 h 47 min667 subs | 5 h 24 min1,298 subs |
| Bubble NebulaCassiopeia, dual-band | Emission nebula | 2 h 01 min484 subs | 2 h 47 min667 subs | 5 h 24 min1,298 subs |
| Cocoon NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 2 h 08 min511 subs | 2 h 55 min701 subs | 5 h 39 min1,357 subs |
| Cave NebulaCepheus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 2 h 50 min680 subs | 3 h 56 min944 subs | 7 h 44 min1,856 subs |
| Fireworks GalaxyCygnus | Galaxy | 2 h 25 min579 subs | 5 h 14 min1,256 subs | 15 h3,595 subs |
| NGC 6914Cygnus | Reflection nebula | 2 h 49 min677 subs | 6 h 02 min1,450 subs | 17 h4,120 subs |
Other telescopes in August: Seestar S50 · Seestar S50 Pro · Seestar S30 · Seestar S30 Pro · DWARF 3 · Draco · DWARF II · Vespera II · Vespera Pro · Vespera 3 · Vespera Pro 2 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II
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