What to image in December with the Unistellar eQuinox 2

Orion is back in the evening sky with the Pleiades above it and the Rosette rising. Andromeda is still high early on. Christmas Moon permitting, the longest nights of the year give the most integration per night you will get.

Moon in December 2026: new on 9 Dec, full on 24 Dec. Broadband targets (galaxies, clusters) want the week either side of new; emission nebulae behind a dual-band filter tolerate the rest.

39 targets transit near midnight in December. From a suburban sky the eQuinox 2 gets a solid image of 22 of them in under an hour each; 17 need longer, or a darker sky, or several nights. Times below use the recommended filter and 4 s subs.

Solid image with the Unistellar eQuinox 2, sorted by the Bortle 6 figure. Each link opens the full Bortle 1 to 9 table with sub-length and filter comparisons.
Target	Type	Bortle 4	Bortle 6	Bortle 8
M34Perseus	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
M35Gemini	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
M37Auriga	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
M38Auriga	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
M41Canis Major	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
M46Puppis	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
M47Puppis	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
M50Monoceros	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
M93Puppis	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
Double ClusterPerseus	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
Rosette ClusterMonoceros	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	2 min32 subs	4 min59 subs
M36Auriga	Open cluster	2 min30 subs	3 min39 subs	5 min74 subs
NGC 1893Auriga	Open cluster	2 min32 subs	3 min43 subs	5 min81 subs
Eskimo NebulaGemini	Planetary nebula	7 min110 subs	10 min156 subs	21 min313 subs
M79Lepus	Globular cluster	9 min142 subs	14 min206 subs	28 min427 subs
Orion NebulaOrion	Emission nebula	10 min151 subs	15 min224 subs	32 min477 subs
M77Cetus	Galaxy	18 min267 subs	26 min395 subs	56 min834 subs
Crab NebulaTaurus	Supernova remnant	23 min338 subs	34 min503 subs	1 h 11 min1,072 subs
De Mairan's NebulaOrion	Emission nebula	28 min415 subs	42 min636 subs	1 h 33 min1,400 subs
Flame NebulaOrion	Emission nebula	28 min415 subs	42 min636 subs	1 h 33 min1,400 subs
Tarantula NebulaDorado	Emission nebula	28 min415 subs	42 min636 subs	1 h 33 min1,400 subs
M78Orion	Reflection nebula	37 min552 subs	56 min839 subs	2 h 02 min1,830 subs
Running Man NebulaOrion	Reflection nebula	39 min587 subs	1 h907 subs	2 h 14 min2,011 subs
Rosette NebulaMonoceros	Emission nebula	1 h 19 min1,186 subs	2 h 04 min1,854 subs	4 h 37 min4,160 subs
PleiadesTaurus	Reflection nebula	1 h 34 min1,416 subs	2 h 28 min2,219 subs	5 h 33 min4,992 subs
Flaming Star NebulaAuriga	Emission nebula	1 h 34 min1,416 subs	2 h 28 min2,219 subs	5 h 33 min4,992 subs
Monkey Head NebulaOrion	Emission nebula	1 h 34 min1,416 subs	2 h 28 min2,219 subs	5 h 33 min4,992 subs
NGC 891Andromeda	Galaxy	1 h 36 min1,438 subs	2 h 30 min2,250 subs	5 h 37 min5,056 subs
California NebulaPerseus	Emission nebula	1 h 53 min1,692 subs	2 h 57 min2,657 subs	6 h 39 min5,991 subs
Horsehead NebulaOrion	Emission nebula	1 h 53 min1,692 subs	2 h 57 min2,657 subs	6 h 39 min5,991 subs
NGC 2403Camelopardalis	Galaxy	1 h 53 min1,692 subs	2 h 57 min2,657 subs	6 h 39 min5,991 subs
Tadpoles NebulaAuriga	Emission nebula	2 h 15 min2,023 subs	3 h 32 min3,183 subs	7 h 59 min7,191 subs
Heart NebulaCassiopeia	Emission nebula	2 h 41 min2,419 subs	4 h 14 min3,814 subs	9 h 36 min8,633 subs
Soul NebulaCassiopeia	Emission nebula	3 h 13 min2,894 subs	5 h 05 min4,571 subs	12 h10,365 subs
NGC 1333Perseus	Reflection nebula	3 h 32 min3,186 subs	5 h 33 min4,992 subs	12 h11,232 subs
Cone and Christmas TreeMonoceros	Emission nebula	3 h 51 min3,464 subs	6 h 05 min5,480 subs	14 h12,447 subs
Jellyfish NebulaGemini	Supernova remnant	3 h 51 min3,464 subs	6 h 05 min5,480 subs	14 h12,447 subs
Thor's HelmetCanis Major	Emission nebula	6 h 02 min5,426 subs	9 h 31 min8,570 subs	22 h19,435 subs
Witch Head NebulaEridanus	Reflection nebula	24 h21,254 subs	38 h33,974 subs	87 h77,930 subs

Other telescopes in December: 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 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II

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