How Many Subs

What to image in January with the ZWO Seestar S30

The long nights of midwinter belong to Orion. The Orion Nebula is up for hours, the emission regions around it (Flame, Horsehead, Rosette, the Christmas Tree cluster) respond to a dual-band filter even from town, and Andromeda and the Pleiades are still high in the west early in the evening. Cold, dry air is the best seeing of the year; dew and battery life are the enemies.

Moon in January 2027: new on 7 Jan, full on 22 Jan. Broadband targets (galaxies, clusters) want the week either side of new; emission nebulae behind a dual-band filter tolerate the rest.

37 targets transit near midnight in January. From a suburban sky the Seestar S30 gets a solid image of 22 of them in under an hour each; 15 need longer, or a darker sky, or several nights. Times below use the recommended filter and 10 s subs.

Solid image with the ZWO Seestar S30, 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 cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
M36AurigaOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs7 min43 subs
M37AurigaOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
M38AurigaOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
M41Canis MajorOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
Beehive ClusterCancerOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
M46PuppisOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
M47PuppisOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
M48HydraOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
M50MonocerosOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
M67CancerOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
M93PuppisOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
Rosette ClusterMonocerosOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min34 subs
NGC 1893AurigaOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs8 min47 subs
Eskimo NebulaGemini, dual-bandPlanetary nebula10 min59 subs11 min68 subs16 min99 subs
Orion NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula12 min70 subs14 min84 subs22 min134 subs
M79LepusGlobular cluster10 min59 subs17 min100 subs40 min242 subs
Crab NebulaTaurus, dual-bandSupernova remnant26 min157 subs31 min189 subs50 min301 subs
Cigar GalaxyUrsa MajorGalaxy20 min118 subs36 min218 subs1 h 33 min560 subs
De Mairan's NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula29 min175 subs36 min219 subs1 h 01 min369 subs
Flame NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula29 min175 subs36 min219 subs1 h 01 min369 subs
Tarantula NebulaDorado, dual-bandEmission nebula29 min175 subs36 min219 subs1 h 01 min369 subs
M78OrionReflection nebula35 min211 subs1 h 06 min395 subs2 h 52 min1,031 subs
Bode's GalaxyUrsa MajorGalaxy34 min207 subs1 h 07 min402 subs2 h 59 min1,075 subs
Running Man NebulaOrionReflection nebula36 min217 subs1 h 10 min422 subs3 h 08 min1,130 subs
Rosette NebulaMonoceros, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 18 min466 subs1 h 39 min597 subs2 h 55 min1,050 subs
Flaming Star NebulaAuriga, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 32 min551 subs1 h 58 min709 subs3 h 29 min1,254 subs
Monkey Head NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 32 min551 subs1 h 58 min709 subs3 h 29 min1,254 subs
California NebulaPerseus, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 49 min653 subs2 h 20 min843 subs4 h 10 min1,498 subs
Horsehead NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 49 min653 subs2 h 20 min843 subs4 h 10 min1,498 subs
NGC 2903LeoGalaxy1 h 14 min446 subs2 h 28 min890 subs6 h 44 min2,425 subs
Tadpoles NebulaAuriga, dual-bandEmission nebula2 h 09 min775 subs2 h 47 min1,003 subs4 h 58 min1,790 subs
NGC 2403CamelopardalisGalaxy1 h 40 min602 subs3 h 23 min1,221 subs9 h 20 min3,361 subs
Cone and Christmas TreeMonoceros, dual-bandEmission nebula3 h 37 min1,300 subs4 h 43 min1,696 subs8 h 31 min3,064 subs
Jellyfish NebulaGemini, dual-bandSupernova remnant3 h 37 min1,300 subs4 h 43 min1,696 subs8 h 31 min3,064 subs
Thor's HelmetCanis Major, dual-bandEmission nebula5 h 41 min2,049 subs7 h 24 min2,666 subs13 h4,801 subs
Witch Head NebulaEridanusReflection nebula20 h7,259 subs43 h15,423 subs120+ h43,632 subs

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

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