What to image in January with the Vaonis Vespera 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 Vespera Pro 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 | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M37Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M38Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M41Canis Major | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| Beehive ClusterCancer | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M46Puppis | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M47Puppis | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M48Hydra | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M50Monoceros | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M67Cancer | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M93Puppis | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| Rosette ClusterMonoceros | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min72 subs |
| M36Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 7 min43 subs | 15 min90 subs |
| NGC 1893Auriga | Open cluster | 5 min32 subs | 8 min47 subs | 16 min98 subs |
| Eskimo NebulaGemini | Planetary nebula | 17 min103 subs | 27 min164 subs | 1 h 02 min375 subs |
| M79Lepus | Globular cluster | 21 min126 subs | 35 min212 subs | 1 h 25 min511 subs |
| Orion NebulaOrion | Emission nebula | 21 min129 subs | 38 min227 subs | 1 h 35 min569 subs |
| Cigar GalaxyUrsa Major | Galaxy | 42 min254 subs | 1 h 17 min463 subs | 3 h 17 min1,183 subs |
| Crab NebulaTaurus | Supernova remnant | 48 min289 subs | 1 h 25 min511 subs | 3 h 33 min1,279 subs |
| De Mairan's NebulaOrion | Emission nebula | 56 min335 subs | 1 h 46 min634 subs | 4 h 37 min1,664 subs |
| Flame NebulaOrion | Emission nebula | 56 min335 subs | 1 h 46 min634 subs | 4 h 37 min1,664 subs |
| Tarantula NebulaDorado | Emission nebula | 56 min335 subs | 1 h 46 min634 subs | 4 h 37 min1,664 subs |
| M78Orion | Reflection nebula | 1 h 15 min453 subs | 2 h 20 min840 subs | 6 h 03 min2,177 subs |
| Bode's GalaxyUrsa Major | Galaxy | 1 h 14 min446 subs | 2 h 23 min856 subs | 6 h 18 min2,271 subs |
| Running Man NebulaOrion | Reflection nebula | 1 h 18 min467 subs | 2 h 30 min899 subs | 6 h 38 min2,388 subs |
| Rosette NebulaMonoceros | Emission nebula | 2 h 33 min921 subs | 5 h 04 min1,822 subs | 14 h4,935 subs |
| NGC 2903Leo | Galaxy | 2 h 41 min964 subs | 5 h 16 min1,898 subs | 14 h5,124 subs |
| Flaming Star NebulaAuriga | Emission nebula | 3 h 02 min1,094 subs | 6 h 03 min2,177 subs | 16 h5,920 subs |
| Monkey Head NebulaOrion | Emission nebula | 3 h 02 min1,094 subs | 6 h 03 min2,177 subs | 16 h5,920 subs |
| California NebulaPerseus | Emission nebula | 3 h 37 min1,302 subs | 7 h 14 min2,604 subs | 20 h7,103 subs |
| Horsehead NebulaOrion | Emission nebula | 3 h 37 min1,302 subs | 7 h 14 min2,604 subs | 20 h7,103 subs |
| NGC 2403Camelopardalis | Galaxy | 3 h 37 min1,302 subs | 7 h 14 min2,604 subs | 20 h7,103 subs |
| Tadpoles NebulaAuriga | Emission nebula | 4 h 18 min1,549 subs | 8 h 39 min3,114 subs | 24 h8,524 subs |
| Cone and Christmas TreeMonoceros | Emission nebula | 7 h 17 min2,624 subs | 15 h5,344 subs | 41 h14,744 subs |
| Jellyfish NebulaGemini | Supernova remnant | 7 h 17 min2,624 subs | 15 h5,344 subs | 41 h14,744 subs |
| Thor's HelmetCanis Major | Emission nebula | 11 h4,124 subs | 23 h8,366 subs | 64 h23,026 subs |
| Witch Head NebulaEridanus | Reflection nebula | 44 h15,741 subs | 91 h32,904 subs | 260+ h92,215 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 3 · Vespera Pro 2 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II
Previous: December · Next: February · Tonight with the Vespera Pro