How Many Subs

What to image in May with the DwarfLab Draco

The last of the galaxies with the first of the summer globulars: Hercules, M3 and M5 are bright, small and forgiving of a bright sky. Darkness is short north of about 50°, so short, bright targets suit the month.

Moon in May 2027: new on 6 May, full on 20 May. Broadband targets (galaxies, clusters) want the week either side of new; emission nebulae behind a dual-band filter tolerate the rest.

51 targets transit near midnight in May. From a suburban sky the Draco gets a solid image of 34 of them in under an hour each; 17 need longer, or a darker sky, or several nights. Times below use the recommended filter and 30 s subs.

Solid image with the DwarfLab Draco, sorted by the Bortle 6 figure. Each link opens the full Bortle 1 to 9 table with sub-length and filter comparisons.
TargetTypeBortle 4Bortle 6Bortle 8
M3Canes VenaticiGlobular cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs20 min40 subs
M5SerpensGlobular cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs21 min43 subs
Butterfly ClusterScorpiusOpen cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs15 min30 subs
Ptolemy's ClusterScorpiusOpen cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs15 min30 subs
M12OphiuchusGlobular cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs31 min62 subs
Hercules ClusterHerculesGlobular cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs15 min30 subs
M23SagittariusOpen cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs15 min30 subs
M62OphiuchusGlobular cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs17 min34 subs
M80ScorpiusGlobular cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs22 min44 subs
M92HerculesGlobular cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs15 min30 subs
Omega CentauriCentaurusGlobular cluster15 min30 subs15 min30 subs15 min30 subs
Cat's Eye NebulaDraco, dual-bandPlanetary nebula15 min30 subs15 min30 subs15 min30 subs
Turtle NebulaHercules, dual-bandPlanetary nebula15 min30 subs15 min30 subs15 min30 subs
M19OphiuchusGlobular cluster15 min30 subs17 min35 subs46 min93 subs
M14OphiuchusGlobular cluster15 min30 subs19 min38 subs49 min98 subs
Spindle GalaxyDracoGalaxy15 min30 subs19 min39 subs49 min98 subs
M10OphiuchusGlobular cluster15 min30 subs23 min46 subs1 h 01 min122 subs
M94Canes VenaticiGalaxy15 min30 subs23 min47 subs1 h 01 min123 subs
M68HydraGlobular cluster15 min30 subs26 min53 subs1 h 09 min139 subs
M9OphiuchusGlobular cluster15 min30 subs28 min56 subs1 h 14 min149 subs
Black Eye GalaxyComa BerenicesGalaxy15 min30 subs28 min57 subs1 h 15 min150 subs
M53Coma BerenicesGlobular cluster15 min30 subs29 min59 subs1 h 18 min157 subs
Centaurus ACentaurusGalaxy17 min34 subs34 min68 subs1 h 32 min185 subs
Southern PinwheelHydraGalaxy19 min39 subs38 min77 subs1 h 45 min211 subs
Sombrero GalaxyVirgoGalaxy20 min40 subs39 min78 subs1 h 44 min208 subs
M59VirgoGalaxy21 min42 subs40 min80 subs1 h 45 min210 subs
Whale GalaxyCanes VenaticiGalaxy22 min44 subs45 min90 subs2 h 04 min249 subs
Whirlpool GalaxyCanes VenaticiGalaxy24 min48 subs48 min97 subs2 h 12 min264 subs
M60VirgoGalaxy25 min50 subs49 min98 subs2 h 10 min261 subs
M107OphiuchusGlobular cluster24 min48 subs49 min98 subs2 h 15 min270 subs
M87VirgoGalaxy26 min52 subs51 min103 subs2 h 20 min280 subs
M106Canes VenaticiGalaxy26 min52 subs53 min107 subs2 h 29 min298 subs
Needle GalaxyComa BerenicesGalaxy26 min53 subs54 min109 subs2 h 31 min302 subs
M49VirgoGalaxy28 min56 subs57 min114 subs2 h 36 min313 subs
M4ScorpiusGlobular cluster29 min59 subs1 h 01 min123 subs2 h 51 min342 subs
M84VirgoGalaxy33 min66 subs1 h 05 min131 subs2 h 58 min356 subs
M85Coma BerenicesGalaxy34 min69 subs1 h 09 min138 subs3 h 09 min378 subs
M89VirgoGalaxy35 min71 subs1 h 11 min143 subs3 h 14 min389 subs
M86VirgoGalaxy35 min71 subs1 h 12 min144 subs3 h 18 min397 subs
Sunflower GalaxyCanes VenaticiGalaxy39 min78 subs1 h 21 min163 subs3 h 48 min456 subs
M88Coma BerenicesGalaxy44 min89 subs1 h 30 min181 subs4 h 09 min499 subs
Antennae GalaxiesCorvusGalaxy48 min96 subs1 h 38 min197 subs4 h 32 min545 subs
M100Coma BerenicesGalaxy55 min111 subs1 h 55 min230 subs5 h 21 min642 subs
M90VirgoGalaxy59 min118 subs2 h 04 min249 subs5 h 52 min704 subs
M58VirgoGalaxy1 h 02 min124 subs2 h 08 min257 subs5 h 59 min718 subs
M99Coma BerenicesGalaxy1 h 06 min132 subs2 h 18 min276 subs6 h 26 min773 subs
M61VirgoGalaxy1 h 13 min147 subs2 h 34 min308 subs7 h 12 min865 subs
M98Coma BerenicesGalaxy1 h 27 min174 subs3 h 07 min374 subs8 h 54 min1,068 subs
M91Coma BerenicesGalaxy1 h 29 min179 subs3 h 09 min379 subs8 h 56 min1,073 subs
Pinwheel GalaxyUrsa MajorGalaxy1 h 43 min206 subs3 h 47 min454 subs11 h1,314 subs
Abell 39Hercules, dual-bandPlanetary nebula12 h1,431 subs17 h2,053 subs35 h4,202 subs

Other telescopes in May: Seestar S50 · Seestar S50 Pro · Seestar S30 · Seestar S30 Pro · DWARF 3 · DWARF mini · DWARF II · Vespera II · Vespera Pro · Vespera 3 · Vespera Pro 2 · eQuinox 2 · Odyssey · Origin · Origin Mark II

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