How long to image the Flaming Star Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S50
From a Bortle 6 suburban sky, the ZWO Seestar S50 needs about 1 h 41 min (607 subs of 10 s with the built-in dual-band (LP filter) filter) for a solid image of the Flaming Star Nebula. A quick look takes 25 min; a showpiece 6 h 44 min. Under a Bortle 3 rural sky the solid figure drops to 1 h 10 min. At Bortle 6 the limit is a mix of skyglow and read noise. In this scope's field it fills 70% of the frame’s short side.
| Sky | Quick lookTarget obvious, still noisy | SolidClean enough to share | ShowpieceSmooth faint detail, print-worthy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bortle 1Excellent dark site | 17 min101 subs | 1 h 07 min402 subs | 4 h 28 min1,607 subs |
| Bortle 2Typical dark site | 17 min102 subs | 1 h 08 min408 subs | 4 h 32 min1,632 subs |
| Bortle 3Rural | 17 min105 subs | 1 h 10 min420 subs | 4 h 40 min1,680 subs |
| Bortle 4Rural / suburban transition | 19 min113 subs | 1 h 15 min449 subs | 4 h 59 min1,795 subs |
| Bortle 5Suburban | 21 min124 subs | 1 h 22 min495 subs | 5 h 30 min1,978 subs |
| Bortle 6Bright suburban | 25 min152 subs | 1 h 41 min607 subs | 6 h 44 min2,426 subs |
| Bortle 7Suburban / urban transition | 34 min205 subs | 2 h 17 min820 subs | 9 h 07 min3,280 subs |
| Bortle 8City | 48 min288 subs | 3 h 12 min1,152 subs | 13 h4,605 subs |
| Bortle 9Inner city | 1 h 17 min465 subs | 5 h 10 min1,859 subs | 21 h7,433 subs |
Power and kit for this session
Allowing for slewing, focusing and rejected subs, that is about 2 h 11 min of run time. The Seestar S50’s battery (rated about 6 h) should cover it; a power bank still keeps the phone running the app alive. (Bortle 6, solid image; we allow 30% over the integration time, and 30% off the battery for a December night.)
- USB-C power bank 20000mAh 5V 3AThe S50 draws 5 V 3 A over USB-C and runs while charging; no PD needed.
- Seestar S50 dew shieldThe built-in heater copes with most nights; a shield helps in heavy dew and blocks stray light.
- red LED head torchRed light keeps your night vision; white light costs you twenty minutes of dark adaptation every time.
- hand warmers long lastingAir-activated packs give hours of heat for the person; winter nights are long and you spend most of them standing still.
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Everything that fits the Seestar S50 →
How it frames
The Flaming Star Nebula is 30′ × 19′ across. The Seestar S50 frames 1.28° × 0.72° at 2.39″ per pixel, so it fills 70% of the frame’s short side.
Longer subs
10, 20 and 30 s in Alt-Az; 60 s only in EQ mode (app 2.5 and later). Time for a solid image by sub length:
| Sub length | Bortle 3 | Bortle 5 | Bortle 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 s | 1 h 10 min420 subs | 1 h 22 min495 subs | 2 h 17 min820 subs |
| 20 s | 51 min152 subs | 1 h 03 min190 subs | 1 h 57 min352 subs |
| 30 s | 44 min89 subs | 57 min114 subs | 1 h 51 min222 subs |
| 60 s | 38 min38 subs | 50 min51 subs | 1 h 44 min105 subs |
With and without the dual-band filter
| Filter | Bortle 3 | Bortle 5 | Bortle 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UV/IR-cut (no light-pollution filter) | 1 h362 subs | 1 h 41 min605 subs | 4 h 38 min1,669 subs |
| dual-band (LP filter) | 1 h 10 min420 subs | 1 h 22 min495 subs | 2 h 17 min820 subs |
About the Flaming Star Nebula
Emission and reflection lit by the runaway star AE Aurigae. Dual-band for the red; a broadband stack adds the blue.
IC 405, Caldwell 31 · Emission nebula in Auriga · magnitude 6.0 · 30′ × 19′ · best in Nov, Dec, Jan. Reachable from mid-northern latitudes (UK, northern US, central Europe) and from the south.
Emission nebulae glow in a few narrow lines, mostly hydrogen-alpha (deep red) and doubly ionised oxygen (teal). A dual-band filter passes those lines and blocks most skyglow, which is why it cuts the time needed from a suburban sky so dramatically. Use it. From a genuinely dark site the gain is smaller because there is less skyglow to block, and read noise becomes the limit, which is where longer subs (EQ mode, or Expert Mode on a Vespera) earn their keep.
Stars lose colour through a dual-band filter; a short broadband stack blended in fixes that if you care.
About the ZWO Seestar S50
The scope that made smart astrophotography mainstream. 50 mm triplet, 2 MP sensor, dual-band filter on a wheel. Alt-Az stacking at 10 s, EQ mode unlocks 60 s. Out of production since 2026 and replaced by the S50 Pro, but there are a great many in use.
10, 20 and 30 s in Alt-Az; 60 s only in EQ mode (app 2.5 and later). Built-in dual-band light-pollution filter, switchable in the app.
Longer subs matter most under dark skies, where read noise rather than skyglow sets the floor. From a city the difference between 10 s and 60 s subs is small; from a rural site it can halve the total time, especially with a dual-band filter in place.
Stack across nights. Every smart scope app can continue a stack or you can combine the saved frames on a computer; the figures here are totals, not single-session limits.
Have an image of the Flaming Star Nebula from a Seestar S50? Email it with your total time and sky to [email protected] and it goes here, credited.
Same target, other telescopes
- Flaming Star Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro: 1 h 53 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S30: 1 h 58 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro: 2 h 02 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the DwarfLab DWARF 3: 2 h 05 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the DwarfLab DWARF mini: 1 h 40 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the DwarfLab Draco: 1 h 20 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the DwarfLab DWARF II: 9 h 16 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera II: 2 h 42 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera Pro: 6 h 03 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera 3: 2 h 35 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2: 5 h 46 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the Unistellar eQuinox 2: 2 h 28 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the Unistellar Odyssey: 11 h from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the Celestron Origin: 43 min from Bortle 6
- Flaming Star Nebula with the Celestron Origin Mark II: 59 min from Bortle 6
All telescopes for the Flaming Star Nebula · All targets for the Seestar S50