What to image in December with the Unistellar Odyssey

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 Odyssey gets a solid image of 14 of them in under an hour each; 25 need longer, or a darker sky, or several nights. Times below use the recommended filter and 4 s subs.

Solid image with the Unistellar Odyssey, 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	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
M35Gemini	Open cluster	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
M37Auriga	Open cluster	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
M38Auriga	Open cluster	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
M41Canis Major	Open cluster	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
M46Puppis	Open cluster	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
M47Puppis	Open cluster	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
M50Monoceros	Open cluster	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
M93Puppis	Open cluster	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
Double ClusterPerseus	Open cluster	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
Rosette ClusterMonoceros	Open cluster	7 min107 subs	9 min136 subs	16 min237 subs
M36Auriga	Open cluster	9 min134 subs	11 min170 subs	20 min296 subs
NGC 1893Auriga	Open cluster	10 min146 subs	12 min185 subs	22 min323 subs
Eskimo NebulaGemini	Planetary nebula	35 min526 subs	46 min691 subs	1 h 24 min1,262 subs
M79Lepus	Globular cluster	46 min692 subs	1 h 02 min925 subs	1 h 55 min1,729 subs
Orion NebulaOrion	Emission nebula	50 min750 subs	1 h 08 min1,016 subs	2 h 09 min1,936 subs
M77Cetus	Galaxy	1 h 28 min1,324 subs	1 h 59 min1,787 subs	3 h 46 min3,388 subs
Crab NebulaTaurus	Supernova remnant	1 h 52 min1,686 subs	2 h 32 min2,286 subs	4 h 50 min4,356 subs
De Mairan's NebulaOrion	Emission nebula	2 h 21 min2,123 subs	3 h 15 min2,927 subs	6 h 20 min5,706 subs
Flame NebulaOrion	Emission nebula	2 h 21 min2,123 subs	3 h 15 min2,927 subs	6 h 20 min5,706 subs
Tarantula NebulaDorado	Emission nebula	2 h 21 min2,123 subs	3 h 15 min2,927 subs	6 h 20 min5,706 subs
M78Orion	Reflection nebula	3 h 07 min2,803 subs	4 h 16 min3,847 subs	8 h 17 min7,452 subs
Running Man NebulaOrion	Reflection nebula	3 h 21 min3,022 subs	4 h 39 min4,184 subs	9 h 07 min8,201 subs
Rosette NebulaMonoceros	Emission nebula	6 h 51 min6,165 subs	9 h 33 min8,594 subs	19 h16,987 subs
PleiadesTaurus	Reflection nebula	8 h 12 min7,377 subs	11 h10,297 subs	23 h20,387 subs
Flaming Star NebulaAuriga	Emission nebula	8 h 12 min7,377 subs	11 h10,297 subs	23 h20,387 subs
Monkey Head NebulaOrion	Emission nebula	8 h 12 min7,377 subs	11 h10,297 subs	23 h20,387 subs
NGC 891Andromeda	Galaxy	8 h 19 min7,481 subs	12 h10,436 subs	23 h20,645 subs
California NebulaPerseus	Emission nebula	9 h 49 min8,830 subs	14 h12,341 subs	27 h24,473 subs
Horsehead NebulaOrion	Emission nebula	9 h 49 min8,830 subs	14 h12,341 subs	27 h24,473 subs
NGC 2403Camelopardalis	Galaxy	9 h 49 min8,830 subs	14 h12,341 subs	27 h24,473 subs
Tadpoles NebulaAuriga	Emission nebula	12 h10,574 subs	16 h14,795 subs	33 h29,380 subs
Heart NebulaCassiopeia	Emission nebula	14 h12,667 subs	20 h17,741 subs	39 h35,277 subs
Soul NebulaCassiopeia	Emission nebula	17 h15,178 subs	24 h21,279 subs	47 h42,361 subs
NGC 1333Perseus	Reflection nebula	18 h16,597 subs	26 h23,167 subs	51 h45,871 subs
Cone and Christmas TreeMonoceros	Emission nebula	20 h18,192 subs	28 h25,527 subs	57 h50,873 subs
Jellyfish NebulaGemini	Supernova remnant	20 h18,192 subs	28 h25,527 subs	57 h50,873 subs
Thor's HelmetCanis Major	Emission nebula	32 h28,458 subs	44 h39,897 subs	88 h79,426 subs
Witch Head NebulaEridanus	Reflection nebula	130+ h112,596 subs	180+ h158,877 subs	350+ h318,801 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 · eQuinox 2 · Origin · Origin Mark II

Previous: November · Next: January · Tonight with the Odyssey

Where to buy the OdysseySearch Amazon UK Unistellar UK Search Amazon US Unistellar USAffiliate links: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Search links may include other models; check the exact variant and package.