What to image in March with the DwarfLab DWARF 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 DWARF II gets a solid image of 7 of them in under an hour each; 41 need longer, or a darker sky, or several nights. Times below use the recommended filter and 15 s subs.
| Target | Type | Bortle 4 | Bortle 6 | Bortle 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omega CentauriCentaurus | Globular cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 13 min53 subs |
| Beehive ClusterCancer | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min33 subs | 16 min66 subs |
| M48Hydra | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min33 subs | 16 min66 subs |
| M67Cancer | Open cluster | 8 min30 subs | 8 min33 subs | 16 min66 subs |
| M3Canes Venatici | Globular cluster | 20 min82 subs | 32 min128 subs | 1 h 12 min287 subs |
| Ghost of JupiterHydra | Planetary nebula | 27 min108 subs | 40 min162 subs | 1 h 27 min348 subs |
| Carina NebulaCarina | Emission nebula | 26 min103 subs | 41 min163 subs | 1 h 33 min371 subs |
| M94Canes Venatici | Galaxy | 58 min233 subs | 1 h 35 min380 subs | 3 h 42 min889 subs |
| M68Hydra | Globular cluster | 1 h 05 min260 subs | 1 h 47 min427 subs | 4 h 11 min1,004 subs |
| Black Eye GalaxyComa Berenices | Galaxy | 1 h 10 min282 subs | 1 h 55 min462 subs | 4 h 31 min1,086 subs |
| Cigar GalaxyUrsa Major | Galaxy | 1 h 11 min283 subs | 1 h 57 min467 subs | 4 h 35 min1,101 subs |
| M53Coma Berenices | Globular cluster | 1 h 12 min288 subs | 1 h 59 min478 subs | 4 h 44 min1,137 subs |
| M66Leo | Galaxy | 1 h 24 min336 subs | 2 h 18 min553 subs | 5 h 26 min1,303 subs |
| Centaurus ACentaurus | Galaxy | 1 h 23 min331 subs | 2 h 19 min557 subs | 5 h 35 min1,339 subs |
| Southern PinwheelHydra | Galaxy | 1 h 34 min378 subs | 2 h 39 min635 subs | 6 h 21 min1,525 subs |
| Sombrero GalaxyVirgo | Galaxy | 1 h 36 min384 subs | 2 h 39 min636 subs | 6 h 16 min1,506 subs |
| M59Virgo | Galaxy | 1 h 39 min396 subs | 2 h 42 min647 subs | 6 h 19 min1,516 subs |
| M65Leo | Galaxy | 1 h 45 min422 subs | 2 h 56 min706 subs | 7 h 01 min1,685 subs |
| Owl NebulaUrsa Major | Planetary nebula | 1 h 50 min439 subs | 3 h722 subs | 7 h 05 min1,700 subs |
| Whale GalaxyCanes Venatici | Galaxy | 1 h 49 min437 subs | 3 h 06 min743 subs | 7 h 30 min1,800 subs |
| Whirlpool GalaxyCanes Venatici | Galaxy | 1 h 58 min472 subs | 3 h 19 min796 subs | 7 h 58 min1,914 subs |
| M60Virgo | Galaxy | 2 h482 subs | 3 h 19 min798 subs | 7 h 52 min1,890 subs |
| M105Leo | Galaxy | 2 h 02 min487 subs | 3 h 21 min804 subs | 7 h 55 min1,901 subs |
| M87Virgo | Galaxy | 2 h 07 min508 subs | 3 h 32 min848 subs | 8 h 26 min2,024 subs |
| Bode's GalaxyUrsa Major | Galaxy | 2 h 07 min509 subs | 3 h 37 min870 subs | 8 h 49 min2,117 subs |
| M106Canes Venatici | Galaxy | 2 h 10 min519 subs | 3 h 42 min887 subs | 9 h2,159 subs |
| Needle GalaxyComa Berenices | Galaxy | 2 h 11 min526 subs | 3 h 45 min900 subs | 9 h 08 min2,191 subs |
| M49Virgo | Galaxy | 2 h 19 min557 subs | 3 h 55 min941 subs | 9 h 27 min2,269 subs |
| M84Virgo | Galaxy | 2 h 41 min644 subs | 4 h 29 min1,077 subs | 11 h2,574 subs |
| M85Coma Berenices | Galaxy | 2 h 50 min679 subs | 4 h 45 min1,140 subs | 11 h2,735 subs |
| M89Virgo | Galaxy | 2 h 55 min700 subs | 4 h 53 min1,174 subs | 12 h2,815 subs |
| M108Ursa Major | Galaxy | 2 h 53 min693 subs | 4 h 54 min1,175 subs | 12 h2,839 subs |
| M86Virgo | Galaxy | 2 h 55 min700 subs | 4 h 57 min1,189 subs | 12 h2,877 subs |
| M96Leo | Galaxy | 3 h 14 min776 subs | 5 h 29 min1,315 subs | 13 h3,175 subs |
| Sunflower GalaxyCanes Venatici | Galaxy | 3 h 16 min785 subs | 5 h 38 min1,352 subs | 14 h3,310 subs |
| M88Coma Berenices | Galaxy | 3 h 40 min880 subs | 6 h 13 min1,494 subs | 15 h3,612 subs |
| Antennae GalaxiesCorvus | Galaxy | 4 h960 subs | 6 h 48 min1,631 subs | 16 h3,949 subs |
| M100Coma Berenices | Galaxy | 4 h 39 min1,118 subs | 7 h 58 min1,912 subs | 19 h4,655 subs |
| NGC 2903Leo | Galaxy | 4 h 38 min1,114 subs | 8 h 04 min1,936 subs | 20 h4,778 subs |
| Hamburger GalaxyLeo | Galaxy | 4 h 56 min1,184 subs | 8 h 37 min2,069 subs | 21 h5,128 subs |
| M90Virgo | Galaxy | 5 h1,202 subs | 8 h 39 min2,078 subs | 21 h5,105 subs |
| M58Virgo | Galaxy | 5 h 11 min1,246 subs | 8 h 53 min2,134 subs | 22 h5,205 subs |
| M99Coma Berenices | Galaxy | 5 h 34 min1,337 subs | 9 h 34 min2,296 subs | 23 h5,609 subs |
| M61Virgo | Galaxy | 6 h 12 min1,488 subs | 11 h2,563 subs | 26 h6,279 subs |
| M95Leo | Galaxy | 6 h 55 min1,662 subs | 12 h2,880 subs | 30 h7,088 subs |
| M109Ursa Major | Galaxy | 7 h 30 min1,802 subs | 13 h3,131 subs | 32 h7,721 subs |
| M98Coma Berenices | Galaxy | 7 h 28 min1,793 subs | 13 h3,131 subs | 32 h7,754 subs |
| M91Coma Berenices | Galaxy | 7 h 36 min1,826 subs | 13 h3,164 subs | 32 h7,784 subs |
Other telescopes in March: Seestar S50 · Seestar S50 Pro · Seestar S30 · Seestar S30 Pro · DWARF 3 · DWARF mini · Draco · Vespera II · Vespera Pro · Vespera 3 · Vespera Pro 2 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II
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