What to image in August with the Vaonis Vespera 3
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 Vespera 3 gets a solid image of 29 of them in under an hour each; 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Duck ClusterScutum | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min35 subs |
| M18Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 9 min54 subs |
| M21Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min37 subs |
| M25Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs |
| M26Scutum | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs |
| M39Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs |
| M52Cassiopeia | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min37 subs |
| Caroline's RoseCassiopeia | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs |
| M29Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| NGC 6939Cepheus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M28Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min36 subs | 14 min84 subs |
| Ring NebulaLyra | Planetary nebula | 5 min30 subs | 7 min45 subs | 17 min101 subs |
| Sagittarius Star CloudSagittarius | Star cloud | 5 min30 subs | 8 min51 subs | 21 min126 subs |
| M15Pegasus | Globular cluster | 5 min32 subs | 9 min56 subs | 23 min138 subs |
| M2Aquarius | Globular cluster | 6 min34 subs | 10 min60 subs | 25 min149 subs |
| M30Capricornus | Globular cluster | 6 min39 subs | 11 min68 subs | 28 min167 subs |
| M22Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 7 min40 subs | 12 min71 subs | 30 min180 subs |
| Blinking PlanetaryCygnus | Planetary nebula | 7 min43 subs | 12 min71 subs | 28 min168 subs |
| Saturn NebulaAquarius | Planetary nebula | 7 min43 subs | 12 min71 subs | 28 min168 subs |
| M55Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 7 min44 subs | 13 min79 subs | 34 min203 subs |
| M70Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 9 min54 subs | 16 min95 subs | 39 min233 subs |
| M69Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 9 min55 subs | 16 min97 subs | 40 min243 subs |
| M75Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 10 min63 subs | 18 min109 subs | 45 min268 subs |
| M71Sagitta | Globular cluster | 10 min63 subs | 18 min110 subs | 45 min271 subs |
| Dumbbell NebulaVulpecula | Planetary nebula | 14 min85 subs | 26 min155 subs | 1 h 06 min399 subs |
| Lagoon NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 14 min84 subs | 27 min162 subs | 1 h 12 min433 subs |
| M54Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 14 min86 subs | 27 min164 subs | 1 h 12 min433 subs |
| Omega NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 16 min98 subs | 31 min187 subs | 1 h 22 min494 subs |
| M56Lyra | Globular cluster | 20 min122 subs | 39 min233 subs | 1 h 43 min618 subs |
| Trifid NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 31 min187 subs | 1 h 04 min384 subs | 2 h 57 min1,064 subs |
| M72Aquarius | Globular cluster | 35 min210 subs | 1 h 08 min410 subs | 3 h 04 min1,102 subs |
| Eagle NebulaSerpens | Emission nebula | 43 min261 subs | 1 h 31 min545 subs | 4 h 15 min1,529 subs |
| Iris NebulaCepheus | Reflection nebula | 51 min308 subs | 1 h 48 min651 subs | 5 h 05 min1,833 subs |
| Eastern Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 56 min336 subs | 1 h 58 min711 subs | 5 h 35 min2,008 subs |
| NGC 7331Pegasus | Galaxy | 58 min350 subs | 2 h 01 min728 subs | 5 h 39 min2,033 subs |
| North America NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 01 min365 subs | 2 h 09 min777 subs | 6 h 06 min2,199 subs |
| Western Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 1 h 06 min398 subs | 2 h 21 min849 subs | 6 h 41 min2,408 subs |
| Pelican NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 26 min514 subs | 3 h 05 min1,109 subs | 8 h 47 min3,164 subs |
| Helix NebulaAquarius | Planetary nebula | 1 h 26 min514 subs | 3 h 05 min1,109 subs | 8 h 47 min3,164 subs |
| Elephant's Trunk NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 1 h 42 min611 subs | 3 h 41 min1,326 subs | 11 h3,797 subs |
| Wizard NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 1 h 42 min611 subs | 3 h 41 min1,326 subs | 11 h3,797 subs |
| Tulip NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 42 min611 subs | 3 h 41 min1,326 subs | 11 h3,797 subs |
| NGC 6781Aquila | Planetary nebula | 1 h 55 min693 subs | 4 h 04 min1,463 subs | 11 h4,124 subs |
| Crescent NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 2 h 01 min726 subs | 4 h 24 min1,586 subs | 13 h4,557 subs |
| Bubble NebulaCassiopeia | Emission nebula | 2 h 01 min726 subs | 4 h 24 min1,586 subs | 13 h4,557 subs |
| Cocoon NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 2 h 07 min763 subs | 4 h 36 min1,657 subs | 13 h4,746 subs |
| Fireworks GalaxyCygnus | Galaxy | 2 h 19 min833 subs | 5 h 01 min1,808 subs | 14 h5,177 subs |
| NGC 6914Cygnus | Reflection nebula | 2 h 42 min974 subs | 5 h 48 min2,087 subs | 16 h5,933 subs |
| Cave NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 2 h 52 min1,030 subs | 6 h 19 min2,273 subs | 18 h6,566 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 Pro 2 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II
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