What to image in March with the Celestron Origin Mark II

Galaxy season begins. Leo, Coma Berenices, Virgo and Ursa Major bring dozens of galaxies to a dark sky; from town they are the hardest targets on the site, so this is the month to find a darker one. The Moon-lit half of the month still has the Orion region early and the Beehive cluster.

Moon in March 2027: new on 8 Mar, full on 22 Mar. Broadband targets (galaxies, clusters) want the week either side of new; emission nebulae behind a dual-band filter tolerate the rest.

48 targets transit near midnight in March. From a suburban sky the Origin Mark II gets a solid image of 42 of them in under an hour each; 6 need longer, or a darker sky, or several nights. Times below use the recommended filter and 10 s subs.

Solid image with the Celestron Origin Mark II, sorted by the Bortle 6 figure. Each link opens the full Bortle 1 to 9 table with sub-length and filter comparisons.
Target	Type	Bortle 4	Bortle 6	Bortle 8
M3Canes Venatici	Globular cluster	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs	9 min57 subs
Beehive ClusterCancer	Open cluster	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs
M48Hydra	Open cluster	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs
M67Cancer	Open cluster	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs
Omega CentauriCentaurus	Globular cluster	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs
Carina NebulaCarina	Emission nebula	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs	12 min73 subs
Ghost of JupiterHydra	Planetary nebula	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs	11 min69 subs
M94Canes Venatici	Galaxy	5 min30 subs	10 min63 subs	29 min175 subs
M68Hydra	Globular cluster	5 min33 subs	12 min70 subs	33 min197 subs
Black Eye GalaxyComa Berenices	Galaxy	6 min36 subs	13 min76 subs	35 min213 subs
Cigar GalaxyUrsa Major	Galaxy	6 min36 subs	13 min77 subs	36 min216 subs
M53Coma Berenices	Globular cluster	6 min36 subs	13 min78 subs	37 min223 subs
Centaurus ACentaurus	Galaxy	7 min40 subs	15 min90 subs	44 min263 subs
M66Leo	Galaxy	7 min43 subs	15 min91 subs	43 min256 subs
Southern PinwheelHydra	Galaxy	8 min46 subs	17 min103 subs	50 min299 subs
Sombrero GalaxyVirgo	Galaxy	8 min48 subs	17 min104 subs	49 min296 subs
M59Virgo	Galaxy	8 min51 subs	18 min106 subs	50 min298 subs
M65Leo	Galaxy	9 min52 subs	19 min115 subs	55 min331 subs
Owl NebulaUrsa Major	Planetary nebula	9 min56 subs	20 min118 subs	56 min334 subs
Whale GalaxyCanes Venatici	Galaxy	9 min52 subs	20 min120 subs	59 min353 subs
Whirlpool GalaxyCanes Venatici	Galaxy	9 min57 subs	21 min129 subs	1 h 02 min375 subs
M60Virgo	Galaxy	10 min61 subs	22 min130 subs	1 h 02 min371 subs
M105Leo	Galaxy	10 min61 subs	22 min131 subs	1 h 02 min373 subs
M87Virgo	Galaxy	10 min63 subs	23 min138 subs	1 h 06 min397 subs
Bode's GalaxyUrsa Major	Galaxy	10 min60 subs	23 min140 subs	1 h 09 min415 subs
M106Canes Venatici	Galaxy	10 min61 subs	24 min142 subs	1 h 10 min423 subs
Needle GalaxyComa Berenices	Galaxy	10 min62 subs	24 min144 subs	1 h 11 min429 subs
M49Virgo	Galaxy	11 min67 subs	25 min152 subs	1 h 14 min445 subs
M84Virgo	Galaxy	13 min79 subs	29 min175 subs	1 h 24 min505 subs
M85Coma Berenices	Galaxy	14 min83 subs	31 min185 subs	1 h 29 min536 subs
M108Ursa Major	Galaxy	14 min83 subs	31 min189 subs	1 h 33 min556 subs
M89Virgo	Galaxy	14 min85 subs	32 min190 subs	1 h 32 min552 subs
M86Virgo	Galaxy	14 min83 subs	32 min191 subs	1 h 34 min564 subs
M96Leo	Galaxy	15 min93 subs	35 min212 subs	1 h 44 min622 subs
Sunflower GalaxyCanes Venatici	Galaxy	15 min91 subs	36 min216 subs	1 h 48 min648 subs
M88Coma Berenices	Galaxy	17 min105 subs	40 min240 subs	1 h 58 min708 subs
Antennae GalaxiesCorvus	Galaxy	19 min114 subs	44 min262 subs	2 h 09 min774 subs
M100Coma Berenices	Galaxy	22 min131 subs	51 min306 subs	2 h 32 min911 subs
NGC 2903Leo	Galaxy	21 min126 subs	51 min307 subs	2 h 36 min934 subs
Hamburger GalaxyLeo	Galaxy	22 min132 subs	55 min328 subs	2 h 47 min1,002 subs
M90Virgo	Galaxy	23 min137 subs	55 min331 subs	2 h 46 min998 subs
M58Virgo	Galaxy	24 min145 subs	57 min341 subs	2 h 50 min1,019 subs
M99Coma Berenices	Galaxy	26 min155 subs	1 h 01 min367 subs	3 h 03 min1,098 subs
M61Virgo	Galaxy	29 min172 subs	1 h 08 min409 subs	3 h 25 min1,228 subs
M95Leo	Galaxy	31 min189 subs	1 h 16 min458 subs	3 h 51 min1,386 subs
M98Coma Berenices	Galaxy	33 min200 subs	1 h 23 min496 subs	4 h 12 min1,515 subs
M109Ursa Major	Galaxy	34 min204 subs	1 h 23 min497 subs	4 h 12 min1,510 subs
M91Coma Berenices	Galaxy	35 min208 subs	1 h 24 min503 subs	4 h 14 min1,522 subs

Other telescopes in March: Seestar S50 · 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

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