What to image in January with the ZWO Seestar S50
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 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.
| Target | Type | Bortle 4 | Bortle 6 | Bortle 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M35Gemini | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M36Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 7 min42 subs |
| M37Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M38Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M41Canis Major | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| Beehive ClusterCancer | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M46Puppis | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M47Puppis | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M48Hydra | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M50Monoceros | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M67Cancer | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| M93Puppis | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| Rosette ClusterMonoceros | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs |
| NGC 1893Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 8 min46 subs |
| Eskimo NebulaGemini, dual-band | Planetary nebula | 9 min53 subs | 10 min62 subs | 15 min93 subs |
| Orion NebulaOrion, dual-band | Emission nebula | 10 min61 subs | 12 min75 subs | 21 min125 subs |
| M79Lepus | Globular cluster | 9 min55 subs | 16 min96 subs | 40 min238 subs |
| Crab NebulaTaurus, dual-band | Supernova remnant | 23 min136 subs | 28 min168 subs | 47 min280 subs |
| De Mairan's NebulaOrion, dual-band | Emission nebula | 24 min147 subs | 32 min190 subs | 57 min340 subs |
| Flame NebulaOrion, dual-band | Emission nebula | 24 min147 subs | 32 min190 subs | 57 min340 subs |
| Tarantula NebulaDorado, dual-band | Emission nebula | 24 min147 subs | 32 min190 subs | 57 min340 subs |
| Cigar GalaxyUrsa Major | Galaxy | 18 min109 subs | 35 min208 subs | 1 h 32 min550 subs |
| M78Orion | Reflection nebula | 32 min193 subs | 1 h 03 min377 subs | 2 h 49 min1,013 subs |
| Bode's GalaxyUrsa Major | Galaxy | 31 min188 subs | 1 h 04 min383 subs | 2 h 56 min1,056 subs |
| Running Man NebulaOrion | Reflection nebula | 33 min197 subs | 1 h 07 min402 subs | 3 h 05 min1,111 subs |
| Rosette NebulaMonoceros, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 03 min381 subs | 1 h 25 min512 subs | 2 h 41 min965 subs |
| Flaming Star NebulaAuriga, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 15 min449 subs | 1 h 41 min607 subs | 3 h 12 min1,152 subs |
| Monkey Head NebulaOrion, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 15 min449 subs | 1 h 41 min607 subs | 3 h 12 min1,152 subs |
| California NebulaPerseus, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 28 min530 subs | 2 h720 subs | 3 h 49 min1,375 subs |
| Horsehead NebulaOrion, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 28 min530 subs | 2 h720 subs | 3 h 49 min1,375 subs |
| NGC 2903Leo | Galaxy | 1 h 07 min403 subs | 2 h 21 min847 subs | 6 h 37 min2,382 subs |
| Tadpoles NebulaAuriga, dual-band | Emission nebula | 1 h 44 min627 subs | 2 h 22 min855 subs | 4 h 34 min1,642 subs |
| NGC 2403Camelopardalis | Galaxy | 1 h 30 min542 subs | 3 h 13 min1,161 subs | 9 h 10 min3,301 subs |
| Cone and Christmas TreeMonoceros, dual-band | Emission nebula | 2 h 54 min1,043 subs | 4 h1,439 subs | 7 h 48 min2,807 subs |
| Jellyfish NebulaGemini, dual-band | Supernova remnant | 2 h 54 min1,043 subs | 4 h1,439 subs | 7 h 48 min2,807 subs |
| Thor's HelmetCanis Major, dual-band | Emission nebula | 4 h 35 min1,648 subs | 6 h 17 min2,265 subs | 12 h4,400 subs |
| Witch Head NebulaEridanus | Reflection nebula | 18 h6,464 subs | 41 h14,628 subs | 120+ h42,837 subs |
Other telescopes in January: 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 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II
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