How Many Subs

What to image in January with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro

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 S50 Pro 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 S50 Pro, 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 min37 subs
M36AurigaOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs8 min46 subs
M37AurigaOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
M38AurigaOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
M41Canis MajorOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
Beehive ClusterCancerOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
M46PuppisOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
M47PuppisOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
M48HydraOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
M50MonocerosOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
M67CancerOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
M93PuppisOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
Rosette ClusterMonocerosOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs6 min37 subs
NGC 1893AurigaOpen cluster5 min30 subs5 min30 subs8 min50 subs
Eskimo NebulaGemini, dual-bandPlanetary nebula10 min59 subs11 min69 subs17 min102 subs
Orion NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula11 min68 subs14 min83 subs23 min137 subs
M79LepusGlobular cluster10 min60 subs17 min105 subs43 min258 subs
Crab NebulaTaurus, dual-bandSupernova remnant25 min152 subs31 min187 subs51 min308 subs
De Mairan's NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula28 min166 subs35 min213 subs1 h 02 min375 subs
Flame NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula28 min166 subs35 min213 subs1 h 02 min375 subs
Tarantula NebulaDorado, dual-bandEmission nebula28 min166 subs35 min213 subs1 h 02 min375 subs
Cigar GalaxyUrsa MajorGalaxy20 min120 subs38 min227 subs1 h 40 min598 subs
M78OrionReflection nebula35 min213 subs1 h 09 min412 subs3 h 03 min1,100 subs
Bode's GalaxyUrsa MajorGalaxy35 min208 subs1 h 10 min419 subs3 h 11 min1,147 subs
Running Man NebulaOrionReflection nebula36 min218 subs1 h 13 min439 subs3 h 21 min1,206 subs
Rosette NebulaMonoceros, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 12 min433 subs1 h 36 min574 subs2 h 57 min1,065 subs
Flaming Star NebulaAuriga, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 25 min510 subs1 h 53 min681 subs3 h 32 min1,270 subs
Monkey Head NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 25 min510 subs1 h 53 min681 subs3 h 32 min1,270 subs
California NebulaPerseus, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 40 min603 subs2 h 15 min808 subs4 h 13 min1,517 subs
Horsehead NebulaOrion, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 40 min603 subs2 h 15 min808 subs4 h 13 min1,517 subs
NGC 2903LeoGalaxy1 h 14 min446 subs2 h 34 min927 subs7 h 11 min2,586 subs
Tadpoles NebulaAuriga, dual-bandEmission nebula1 h 59 min713 subs2 h 40 min960 subs5 h 02 min1,812 subs
NGC 2403CamelopardalisGalaxy1 h 40 min600 subs3 h 32 min1,270 subs9 h 57 min3,585 subs
Cone and Christmas TreeMonoceros, dual-bandEmission nebula3 h 18 min1,190 subs4 h 30 min1,618 subs8 h 36 min3,098 subs
Jellyfish NebulaGemini, dual-bandSupernova remnant3 h 18 min1,190 subs4 h 30 min1,618 subs8 h 36 min3,098 subs
Thor's HelmetCanis Major, dual-bandEmission nebula5 h 13 min1,879 subs7 h 04 min2,547 subs13 h4,855 subs
Witch Head NebulaEridanusReflection nebula20 h7,183 subs44 h16,013 subs130+ h46,524 subs

Other telescopes in January: Seestar S50 · Seestar S30 · 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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