What to image in July with the Vaonis Vespera 3
The Milky Way core is up after midnight: the Lagoon, Trifid, Eagle and Swan nebulae, low in the south from Britain and northern Europe but spectacular from the southern US and the southern hemisphere. Cygnus and the Veil are high by the small hours. Dual-band filter on for all of them.
Moon in July 2027: new on 4 Jul, full on 18 Jul. Broadband targets (galaxies, clusters) want the week either side of new; emission nebulae behind a dual-band filter tolerate the rest.
59 targets transit near midnight in July. From a suburban sky the Vespera 3 gets a solid image of 42 of them in under an hour each; 17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butterfly ClusterScorpius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs |
| Ptolemy's ClusterScorpius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs |
| Wild Duck ClusterScutum | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min35 subs |
| M18Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 9 min54 subs |
| M21Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min37 subs |
| M23Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs |
| M25Sagittarius | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs |
| M26Scutum | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs |
| M39Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs |
| M29Cygnus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| NGC 6939Cepheus | Open cluster | 5 min30 subs | 5 min32 subs | 11 min69 subs |
| M92Hercules | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min35 subs | 14 min82 subs |
| M28Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 6 min36 subs | 14 min84 subs |
| Hercules ClusterHercules | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 7 min43 subs | 17 min103 subs |
| Ring NebulaLyra | Planetary nebula | 5 min30 subs | 7 min45 subs | 17 min101 subs |
| M62Ophiuchus | Globular cluster | 5 min30 subs | 8 min48 subs | 19 min117 subs |
| Sagittarius Star CloudSagittarius | Star cloud | 5 min30 subs | 8 min51 subs | 21 min126 subs |
| M15Pegasus | Globular cluster | 5 min32 subs | 9 min56 subs | 23 min138 subs |
| M2Aquarius | Globular cluster | 6 min34 subs | 10 min60 subs | 25 min149 subs |
| M80Scorpius | Globular cluster | 6 min37 subs | 10 min63 subs | 25 min153 subs |
| M30Capricornus | Globular cluster | 6 min39 subs | 11 min68 subs | 28 min167 subs |
| M22Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 7 min40 subs | 12 min71 subs | 30 min180 subs |
| Cat's Eye NebulaDraco | Planetary nebula | 7 min43 subs | 12 min71 subs | 28 min168 subs |
| Turtle NebulaHercules | Planetary nebula | 7 min43 subs | 12 min71 subs | 28 min168 subs |
| Blinking PlanetaryCygnus | Planetary nebula | 7 min43 subs | 12 min71 subs | 28 min168 subs |
| Saturn NebulaAquarius | Planetary nebula | 7 min43 subs | 12 min71 subs | 28 min168 subs |
| M55Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 7 min44 subs | 13 min79 subs | 34 min203 subs |
| M12Ophiuchus | Globular cluster | 8 min46 subs | 14 min83 subs | 35 min212 subs |
| M70Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 9 min54 subs | 16 min95 subs | 39 min233 subs |
| M69Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 9 min55 subs | 16 min97 subs | 40 min243 subs |
| M75Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 10 min63 subs | 18 min109 subs | 45 min268 subs |
| M71Sagitta | Globular cluster | 10 min63 subs | 18 min110 subs | 45 min271 subs |
| M19Ophiuchus | Globular cluster | 11 min65 subs | 20 min122 subs | 53 min320 subs |
| M14Ophiuchus | Globular cluster | 12 min70 subs | 22 min130 subs | 56 min337 subs |
| Dumbbell NebulaVulpecula | Planetary nebula | 14 min85 subs | 26 min155 subs | 1 h 06 min399 subs |
| M10Ophiuchus | Globular cluster | 14 min82 subs | 26 min158 subs | 1 h 10 min421 subs |
| Lagoon NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 14 min84 subs | 27 min162 subs | 1 h 12 min433 subs |
| M54Sagittarius | Globular cluster | 14 min86 subs | 27 min164 subs | 1 h 12 min433 subs |
| Omega NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 16 min98 subs | 31 min187 subs | 1 h 22 min494 subs |
| M9Ophiuchus | Globular cluster | 17 min101 subs | 32 min194 subs | 1 h 26 min517 subs |
| M56Lyra | Globular cluster | 20 min122 subs | 39 min233 subs | 1 h 43 min618 subs |
| M107Ophiuchus | Globular cluster | 28 min168 subs | 57 min340 subs | 2 h 36 min934 subs |
| Trifid NebulaSagittarius | Emission nebula | 31 min187 subs | 1 h 04 min384 subs | 2 h 57 min1,064 subs |
| M72Aquarius | Globular cluster | 35 min210 subs | 1 h 08 min410 subs | 3 h 04 min1,102 subs |
| M4Scorpius | Globular cluster | 34 min206 subs | 1 h 11 min426 subs | 3 h 18 min1,186 subs |
| Eagle NebulaSerpens | Emission nebula | 43 min261 subs | 1 h 31 min545 subs | 4 h 15 min1,529 subs |
| Iris NebulaCepheus | Reflection nebula | 51 min308 subs | 1 h 48 min651 subs | 5 h 05 min1,833 subs |
| Eastern Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 56 min336 subs | 1 h 58 min711 subs | 5 h 35 min2,008 subs |
| North America NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 01 min365 subs | 2 h 09 min777 subs | 6 h 06 min2,199 subs |
| Western Veil NebulaCygnus | Supernova remnant | 1 h 06 min398 subs | 2 h 21 min849 subs | 6 h 41 min2,408 subs |
| Pelican NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 26 min514 subs | 3 h 05 min1,109 subs | 8 h 47 min3,164 subs |
| Elephant's Trunk NebulaCepheus | Emission nebula | 1 h 42 min611 subs | 3 h 41 min1,326 subs | 11 h3,797 subs |
| Tulip NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 1 h 42 min611 subs | 3 h 41 min1,326 subs | 11 h3,797 subs |
| NGC 6781Aquila | Planetary nebula | 1 h 55 min693 subs | 4 h 04 min1,463 subs | 11 h4,124 subs |
| Crescent NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 2 h 01 min726 subs | 4 h 24 min1,586 subs | 13 h4,557 subs |
| Cocoon NebulaCygnus | Emission nebula | 2 h 07 min763 subs | 4 h 36 min1,657 subs | 13 h4,746 subs |
| Fireworks GalaxyCygnus | Galaxy | 2 h 19 min833 subs | 5 h 01 min1,808 subs | 14 h5,177 subs |
| NGC 6914Cygnus | Reflection nebula | 2 h 42 min974 subs | 5 h 48 min2,087 subs | 16 h5,933 subs |
| Abell 39Hercules | Planetary nebula | 16 h5,616 subs | 35 h12,638 subs | 100+ h36,906 subs |
Other telescopes in July: Seestar S50 · Seestar S50 Pro · Seestar S30 · Seestar S30 Pro · DWARF 3 · DWARF mini · Draco · DWARF II · Vespera II · Vespera Pro · Vespera Pro 2 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II
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