How Many Subs

What to image in February with the DwarfLab DWARF mini

Orion is still well placed after dark and the winter clusters in Auriga and Gemini ride high. Late in the evening the first galaxies of spring rise in the east: Leo, then Ursa Major. A month for both nebulae and, after midnight, the Bode and Cigar pair.

Moon in February 2027: new on 6 Feb, full on 20 Feb. Broadband targets (galaxies, clusters) want the week either side of new; emission nebulae behind a dual-band filter tolerate the rest.

31 targets transit near midnight in February. From a suburban sky the DWARF mini gets a solid image of 18 of them in under an hour each; 13 need longer, or a darker sky, or several nights. Times below use the recommended filter and 15 s subs.

Solid image with the DwarfLab DWARF mini, sorted by the Bortle 6 figure. Each link opens the full Bortle 1 to 9 table with sub-length and filter comparisons.
TargetTypeBortle 4Bortle 6Bortle 8
M35GeminiOpen cluster8 min30 subs8 min30 subs8 min30 subs
M41Canis MajorOpen cluster8 min30 subs8 min30 subs8 min30 subs
Beehive ClusterCancerOpen cluster8 min30 subs8 min30 subs8 min30 subs
M46PuppisOpen cluster8 min30 subs8 min30 subs8 min30 subs
M47PuppisOpen cluster8 min30 subs8 min30 subs8 min30 subs
M48HydraOpen cluster8 min30 subs8 min30 subs8 min30 subs
M50MonocerosOpen cluster8 min30 subs8 min30 subs8 min30 subs
M67CancerOpen cluster8 min30 subs8 min30 subs8 min30 subs
M93PuppisOpen cluster8 min30 subs8 min30 subs8 min30 subs
Rosette ClusterMonocerosOpen cluster8 min30 subs8 min30 subs8 min30 subs
Carina NebulaCarina, dual-bandEmission nebula8 min30 subs9 min37 subs15 min60 subs
Eskimo NebulaGemini, dual-bandPlanetary nebula9 min35 subs10 min41 subs15 min62 subs
Ghost of JupiterHydra, dual-bandPlanetary nebula9 min35 subs10 min41 subs15 min62 subs
Cigar GalaxyUrsa MajorGalaxy18 min72 subs34 min138 subs1 h 32 min367 subs
Owl NebulaUrsa Major, dual-bandPlanetary nebula30 min119 subs37 min150 subs1 h 04 min258 subs
M66LeoGalaxy21 min86 subs41 min164 subs1 h 48 min434 subs
M65LeoGalaxy26 min106 subs52 min208 subs2 h 20 min561 subs
M105LeoGalaxy31 min123 subs59 min238 subs2 h 38 min633 subs
Bode's GalaxyUrsa MajorGalaxy31 min124 subs1 h 03 min254 subs2 h 56 min703 subs
Rosette NebulaMonoceros, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 02 min249 subs1 h 24 min336 subs2 h 40 min639 subs
M108Ursa MajorGalaxy43 min171 subs1 h 26 min344 subs3 h 56 min943 subs
M96LeoGalaxy48 min191 subs1 h 36 min385 subs4 h 24 min1,055 subs
Monkey Head NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 13 min293 subs1 h 40 min399 subs3 h 10 min762 subs
NGC 2903LeoGalaxy1 h 06 min266 subs2 h 20 min562 subs6 h 36 min1,585 subs
Hamburger GalaxyLeoGalaxy1 h 10 min281 subs2 h 30 min600 subs7 h 05 min1,701 subs
NGC 2403CamelopardalisGalaxy1 h 29 min358 subs3 h 13 min771 subs9 h 09 min2,197 subs
M95LeoGalaxy1 h 40 min399 subs3 h 29 min837 subs9 h 48 min2,352 subs
M109Ursa MajorGalaxy1 h 48 min431 subs3 h 47 min909 subs11 h2,562 subs
Cone and Christmas TreeMonoceros, dual-bandEmission nebula2 h 50 min680 subs3 h 56 min944 subs7 h 44 min1,856 subs
Jellyfish NebulaGemini, dual-bandSupernova remnant2 h 50 min680 subs3 h 56 min944 subs7 h 44 min1,856 subs
Thor's HelmetCanis Major, dual-bandEmission nebula4 h 28 min1,074 subs6 h 11 min1,486 subs12 h2,909 subs

Other telescopes in February: Seestar S50 · Seestar S50 Pro · Seestar S30 · Seestar S30 Pro · DWARF 3 · Draco · DWARF II · Vespera II · Vespera Pro · Vespera 3 · Vespera Pro 2 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II

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