What to image in January with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2
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 Vespera Pro 2 gets a solid image of 17 of them in under an hour each; 20 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 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M37Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M38Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M41Canis Major | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| Beehive ClusterCancer | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M46Puppis | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M47Puppis | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M48Hydra | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M50Monoceros | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M67Cancer | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M93Puppis | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| Rosette ClusterMonoceros | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min33 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M36Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 7 min41 subs | 14 min86 subs |
| NGC 1893Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 7 min45 subs | 16 min94 subs |
| Eskimo NebulaGemini | Planetary nebula | 16 min98 subs | 26 min157 subs | 1 h360 subs |
| M79Lepus | Globular cluster | 20 min120 subs | 34 min203 subs | 1 h 21 min489 subs |
| Orion NebulaOrion | Emission nebula | 20 min122 subs | 36 min217 subs | 1 h 31 min545 subs |
| Cigar GalaxyUrsa Major | Galaxy | 40 min241 subs | 1 h 13 min441 subs | 3 h 09 min1,133 subs |
| Crab NebulaTaurus | Supernova remnant | 46 min274 subs | 1 h 21 min488 subs | 3 h 24 min1,225 subs |
| De Mairan's NebulaOrion | Emission nebula | 53 min318 subs | 1 h 41 min604 subs | 4 h 26 min1,594 subs |
| Flame NebulaOrion | Emission nebula | 53 min318 subs | 1 h 41 min604 subs | 4 h 26 min1,594 subs |
| Tarantula NebulaDorado | Emission nebula | 53 min318 subs | 1 h 41 min604 subs | 4 h 26 min1,594 subs |
| M78Orion | Reflection nebula | 1 h 12 min430 subs | 2 h 13 min801 subs | 5 h 47 min2,085 subs |
| Bode's GalaxyUrsa Major | Galaxy | 1 h 10 min422 subs | 2 h 16 min816 subs | 6 h 02 min2,175 subs |
| Running Man NebulaOrion | Reflection nebula | 1 h 14 min442 subs | 2 h 23 min857 subs | 6 h 21 min2,287 subs |
| Rosette NebulaMonoceros | Emission nebula | 2 h 25 min871 subs | 4 h 49 min1,736 subs | 13 h4,726 subs |
| NGC 2903Leo | Galaxy | 2 h 32 min912 subs | 5 h 01 min1,809 subs | 14 h4,907 subs |
| Flaming Star NebulaAuriga | Emission nebula | 2 h 52 min1,035 subs | 5 h 46 min2,075 subs | 16 h5,669 subs |
| Monkey Head NebulaOrion | Emission nebula | 2 h 52 min1,035 subs | 5 h 46 min2,075 subs | 16 h5,669 subs |
| California NebulaPerseus | Emission nebula | 3 h 25 min1,231 subs | 6 h 53 min2,481 subs | 19 h6,802 subs |
| Horsehead NebulaOrion | Emission nebula | 3 h 25 min1,231 subs | 6 h 53 min2,481 subs | 19 h6,802 subs |
| NGC 2403Camelopardalis | Galaxy | 3 h 25 min1,231 subs | 6 h 53 min2,481 subs | 19 h6,802 subs |
| Tadpoles NebulaAuriga | Emission nebula | 4 h 04 min1,464 subs | 8 h 15 min2,968 subs | 23 h8,163 subs |
| Cone and Christmas TreeMonoceros | Emission nebula | 6 h 53 min2,479 subs | 14 h5,092 subs | 39 h14,120 subs |
| Jellyfish NebulaGemini | Supernova remnant | 6 h 53 min2,479 subs | 14 h5,092 subs | 39 h14,120 subs |
| Thor's HelmetCanis Major | Emission nebula | 11 h3,897 subs | 22 h7,972 subs | 61 h22,051 subs |
| Witch Head NebulaEridanus | Reflection nebula | 41 h14,862 subs | 87 h31,346 subs | 250+ h88,308 subs |
Other telescopes in January: Seestar S50 · Seestar S50 Pro · Seestar S30 · Seestar S30 Pro · DWARF 3 · DWARF mini · Draco · DWARF II · Vespera II · Vespera Pro · Vespera 3 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II
Previous: December · Next: February · Tonight with the Vespera Pro 2