What to image in August with the Vaonis Vespera 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 Vespera II 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 min36 subs |
| M18Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 9 min56 subs |
| M21Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min39 subs |
| M25Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M26Scutum | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M39Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M52Cassiopeia | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min39 subs |
| Caroline's RoseCassiopeia | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M29Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| NGC 6939Cepheus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M28Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min38 subs | 14 min87 subs |
| Ring NebulaLyra | Planetary nebula | 5 min31 subs | 8 min47 subs | 17 min105 subs |
| Sagittarius Star CloudSagittarius | Star cloud | 5 min31 subs | 9 min53 subs | 22 min131 subs |
| M15Pegasus | Globular cluster | 5 min33 subs | 10 min58 subs | 24 min144 subs |
| M2Aquarius | Globular cluster | 6 min36 subs | 10 min63 subs | 26 min156 subs |
| M30Capricornus | Globular cluster | 7 min41 subs | 12 min71 subs | 29 min174 subs |
| M22Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 7 min42 subs | 12 min74 subs | 31 min187 subs |
| Blinking PlanetaryCygnus | Planetary nebula | 7 min45 subs | 12 min75 subs | 29 min175 subs |
| Saturn NebulaAquarius | Planetary nebula | 7 min45 subs | 12 min75 subs | 29 min175 subs |
| M55Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 8 min46 subs | 14 min83 subs | 35 min211 subs |
| M70Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 9 min57 subs | 16 min99 subs | 40 min243 subs |
| M69Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 9 min57 subs | 17 min101 subs | 42 min254 subs |
| M75Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 11 min66 subs | 19 min114 subs | 46 min279 subs |
| M71Sagitta | Globular cluster | 11 min66 subs | 19 min115 subs | 47 min282 subs |
| Dumbbell NebulaVulpecula | Planetary nebula | 15 min89 subs | 27 min163 subs | 1 h 09 min416 subs |
| Lagoon NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 15 min88 subs | 28 min170 subs | 1 h 15 min452 subs |
| M54Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 15 min90 subs | 28 min171 subs | 1 h 15 min451 subs |
| Omega NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 17 min103 subs | 32 min195 subs | 1 h 26 min515 subs |
| M56Lyra | Globular cluster | 21 min128 subs | 41 min244 subs | 1 h 47 min645 subs |
| Trifid NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 33 min197 subs | 1 h 07 min402 subs | 3 h 05 min1,111 subs |
| M72Aquarius | Globular cluster | 37 min220 subs | 1 h 11 min429 subs | 3 h 12 min1,150 subs |
| Eagle NebulaSerpens | Emission nebula | 46 min275 subs | 1 h 35 min571 subs | 4 h 26 min1,595 subs |
| Iris NebulaCepheus | Reflection nebula | 54 min325 subs | 1 h 53 min681 subs | 5 h 19 min1,913 subs |
| Eastern Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 59 min353 subs | 2 h 04 min744 subs | 5 h 49 min2,094 subs |
| NGC 7331Pegasus | Galaxy | 1 h 01 min368 subs | 2 h 07 min762 subs | 5 h 53 min2,121 subs |
| North America NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 04 min385 subs | 2 h 15 min813 subs | 6 h 22 min2,294 subs |
| Western Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 1 h 10 min419 subs | 2 h 28 min889 subs | 6 h 59 min2,512 subs |
| Pelican NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 30 min542 subs | 3 h 13 min1,161 subs | 9 h 10 min3,301 subs |
| Helix NebulaAquarius | Planetary nebula | 1 h 30 min542 subs | 3 h 13 min1,161 subs | 9 h 10 min3,301 subs |
| Elephant's Trunk NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 1 h 47 min644 subs | 3 h 51 min1,388 subs | 11 h3,961 subs |
| Wizard NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 1 h 47 min644 subs | 3 h 51 min1,388 subs | 11 h3,961 subs |
| Tulip NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 47 min644 subs | 3 h 51 min1,388 subs | 11 h3,961 subs |
| NGC 6781Aquila | Planetary nebula | 2 h 02 min730 subs | 4 h 15 min1,532 subs | 12 h4,303 subs |
| Crescent NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 2 h 08 min766 subs | 4 h 37 min1,661 subs | 13 h4,754 subs |
| Bubble NebulaCassiopeia | Emission nebula | 2 h 08 min766 subs | 4 h 37 min1,661 subs | 13 h4,754 subs |
| Cocoon NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 2 h 14 min805 subs | 4 h 49 min1,735 subs | 14 h4,951 subs |
| Fireworks GalaxyCygnus | Galaxy | 2 h 26 min878 subs | 5 h 15 min1,893 subs | 15 h5,401 subs |
| NGC 6914Cygnus | Reflection nebula | 2 h 51 min1,026 subs | 6 h 04 min2,185 subs | 17 h6,190 subs |
| Cave NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 3 h 01 min1,086 subs | 6 h 37 min2,380 subs | 19 h6,851 subs |
Other telescopes in August: Seestar S50 · Seestar S50 Pro · Seestar S30 · Seestar S30 Pro · DWARF 3 · DWARF mini · Draco · DWARF II · Vespera Pro · Vespera 3 · Vespera Pro 2 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II
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