What to image in August with the DwarfLab Draco
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 Draco gets a solid image of 32 of them in under an hour each; 17 need longer, or a darker sky, or several nights. Times below use the recommended filter and 30 s subs.
| Target | Type | Bortle 4 | Bortle 6 | Bortle 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M2Aquarius | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 21 min43 subs |
| Wild Duck ClusterScutum | Open cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M15Pegasus | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 20 min40 subs |
| M18Sagittarius | Open cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M21Sagittarius | Open cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M22Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 26 min52 subs |
| Sagittarius Star CloudSagittarius | Star cloud | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 18 min37 subs |
| M25Sagittarius | Open cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M26Scutum | Open cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M28Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M29Cygnus | Open cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M30Capricornus | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 24 min49 subs |
| M39Cygnus | Open cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M52Cassiopeia | Open cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M55Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 29 min59 subs |
| Ring NebulaLyra, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M69Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 35 min70 subs |
| M70Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 34 min68 subs |
| Blinking PlanetaryCygnus, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| NGC 6939Cepheus | Open cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| Caroline's RoseCassiopeia | Open cluster | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| Saturn NebulaAquarius, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| M75Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 16 min32 subs | 39 min78 subs |
| M71Sagitta | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 16 min32 subs | 39 min78 subs |
| Lagoon NebulaSagittarius, dual-band | Emission nebula | 15 min30 subs | 16 min32 subs | 28 min56 subs |
| Dumbbell NebulaVulpecula, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 15 min30 subs | 16 min33 subs | 27 min54 subs |
| Omega NebulaSagittarius, dual-band | Emission nebula | 15 min30 subs | 18 min37 subs | 32 min64 subs |
| M54Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 15 min30 subs | 23 min47 subs | 1 h 02 min125 subs |
| M56Lyra | Globular cluster | 17 min35 subs | 33 min67 subs | 1 h 29 min179 subs |
| Trifid NebulaSagittarius, dual-band | Emission nebula | 26 min53 subs | 35 min70 subs | 1 h 05 min130 subs |
| Eagle NebulaSerpens, dual-band | Emission nebula | 36 min72 subs | 48 min97 subs | 1 h 32 min184 subs |
| M72Aquarius | Globular cluster | 30 min60 subs | 59 min118 subs | 2 h 39 min318 subs |
| Eastern Veil NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Supernova remnant | 45 min91 subs | 1 h 02 min125 subs | 1 h 59 min239 subs |
| North America NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 49 min99 subs | 1 h 08 min136 subs | 2 h 10 min261 subs |
| Western Veil NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Supernova remnant | 53 min107 subs | 1 h 13 min147 subs | 2 h 22 min285 subs |
| Iris NebulaCepheus | Reflection nebula | 44 min88 subs | 1 h 33 min187 subs | 4 h 24 min529 subs |
| Pelican NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 08 min137 subs | 1 h 35 min190 subs | 3 h 06 min372 subs |
| Helix NebulaAquarius, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 1 h 08 min137 subs | 1 h 35 min190 subs | 3 h 06 min372 subs |
| NGC 7331Pegasus | Galaxy | 49 min99 subs | 1 h 44 min209 subs | 4 h 53 min587 subs |
| Elephant's Trunk NebulaCepheus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 21 min162 subs | 1 h 52 min225 subs | 3 h 42 min444 subs |
| Wizard NebulaCepheus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 21 min162 subs | 1 h 52 min225 subs | 3 h 42 min444 subs |
| Tulip NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 21 min162 subs | 1 h 52 min225 subs | 3 h 42 min444 subs |
| NGC 6781Aquila, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 1 h 34 min189 subs | 2 h 08 min257 subs | 4 h 06 min493 subs |
| Crescent NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 36 min192 subs | 2 h 14 min268 subs | 4 h 25 min531 subs |
| Bubble NebulaCassiopeia, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 36 min192 subs | 2 h 14 min268 subs | 4 h 25 min531 subs |
| Cocoon NebulaCygnus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 41 min202 subs | 2 h 21 min282 subs | 4 h 37 min555 subs |
| Cave NebulaCepheus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 2 h 14 min268 subs | 3 h 09 min378 subs | 6 h 19 min759 subs |
| Fireworks GalaxyCygnus | Galaxy | 1 h 58 min236 subs | 4 h 19 min518 subs | 12 h1,493 subs |
| NGC 6914Cygnus | Reflection nebula | 2 h 18 min276 subs | 4 h 59 min598 subs | 14 h1,711 subs |
Other telescopes in August: Seestar S50 · Seestar S50 Pro · Seestar S30 · Seestar S30 Pro · DWARF 3 · DWARF mini · DWARF II · Vespera II · Vespera Pro · Vespera 3 · Vespera Pro 2 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II
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