How long should I image the Eagle Nebula with the Vespera Pro 2 from a Bortle 6 sky?

About 3 h 23 min of total integration for a solid image, or 14 h for a showpiece. A quick look takes 51 min.

How many subs is that on the Vespera Pro 2?

At the default 10 s sub length, 1,218 subs for a solid image from Bortle 6 and 510 from Bortle 3.

Does a dual-band filter help on the Eagle Nebula?

Yes. It is an emission-line object; from Bortle 6 the filter cuts the solid-image time from 3 h 23 min to 2 h 25 min.

How long to image the Eagle Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2

From a Bortle 6 suburban sky, the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2 needs about 3 h 23 min (1,218 subs of 10 s) for a solid image of the Eagle Nebula. A quick look takes 51 min; a showpiece 14 h. Under a Bortle 3 rural sky the solid figure drops to 1 h 25 min. At Bortle 6 the limit is skyglow, so a darker site or a filter helps more than longer subs. In this scope's field it fills 35% of the frame’s short side.

Eagle Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2: 10 s subs.
Sky	Quick lookTarget obvious, still noisy	SolidClean enough to share	ShowpieceSmooth faint detail, print-worthy
Bortle 1Excellent dark site	18 min111 subs	1 h 13 min441 subs	4 h 54 min1,763 subs
Bortle 2Typical dark site	19 min117 subs	1 h 17 min465 subs	5 h 10 min1,859 subs
Bortle 3Rural	21 min128 subs	1 h 25 min510 subs	5 h 40 min2,039 subs
Bortle 4Rural / suburban transition	26 min155 subs	1 h 43 min620 subs	6 h 53 min2,477 subs
Bortle 5Suburban	33 min199 subs	2 h 12 min793 subs	8 h 48 min3,170 subs
Bortle 6Bright suburban	51 min305 subs	3 h 23 min1,218 subs	14 h4,871 subs
Bortle 7Suburban / urban transition	1 h 24 min507 subs	5 h 38 min2,028 subs	23 h8,111 subs
Bortle 8City	2 h 17 min822 subs	9 h 08 min3,286 subs	37 h13,143 subs
Bortle 9Inner city	4 h 09 min1,493 subs	17 h5,969 subs	66 h23,874 subs

Adjust in the calculator

Power and kit for this session

Allowing for slewing, focusing and rejected subs, that is about 4 h 24 min of run time. The Vespera Pro 2’s battery (rated about 11 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.)

USB-C PD power bank 20000mAh 30WExternal bank extends the 11 h battery.
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How it frames

The Eagle Nebula is 35′ × 28′ across. The Vespera Pro 2 frames 1.65° × 1.65° at 1.68″ per pixel, so it fills 35% of the frame’s short side.

Longer subs

10 s subs by default; Expert Mode manual targets allow 1 to 30 s. Alt-azimuth only; CovalENS mosaic gives 3.2° × 3.2° at 50 MP. Time for a solid image by sub length:

Sub length	Bortle 3	Bortle 5	Bortle 7
10 s	1 h 25 min510 subs	2 h 12 min793 subs	5 h 38 min2,028 subs
20 s	1 h 11 min213 subs	1 h 58 min354 subs	5 h 24 min972 subs
30 s	1 h 06 min132 subs	1 h 53 min227 subs	5 h 19 min638 subs

With and without the dual-band filter

Solid quality, default sub length.
Filter	Bortle 3	Bortle 5	Bortle 7
No filter	1 h 25 min510 subs	2 h 12 min793 subs	5 h 38 min2,028 subs
dual-band (Dual Band filter), clip-on	1 h 49 min656 subs	2 h 04 min743 subs	3 h 07 min1,121 subs

The Vespera Pro 2 has no built-in dual-band filter. Optional clip-on Vaonis filters: dual-band, light-pollution (CLS) and solar. On an emission target like this it is the single biggest upgrade you can make.

About the Eagle Nebula

Home of the Pillars of Creation. The cluster comes fast; the pillars and surrounding nebulosity need a dual-band filter and patience.

M16, NGC 6611, IC 4703 · Emission nebula in Serpens · magnitude 6.0 · 35′ × 28′ · best in Jun, Jul, Aug. 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 Vaonis Vespera Pro 2

The square-sensor 2026 Vespera with 2 µm pixels. Sharper than the Vespera 3 on small targets and correspondingly slower per pixel; the 12.5 MP square frame suits galaxies and planetaries.

10 s subs by default; Expert Mode manual targets allow 1 to 30 s. Alt-azimuth only; CovalENS mosaic gives 3.2° × 3.2° at 50 MP. Optional clip-on Vaonis filters: dual-band, light-pollution (CLS) and solar.

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 30 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.

Where to buy the Vespera Pro 2Vaonis store Direct Amazon UK Amazon USThe Vaonis store link is a plain link; the others are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Imaged the Eagle Nebula with your Vespera Pro 2? Did the solid figure match?Anonymous, one tap. It is how the model gets calibrated.

Have an image of the Eagle Nebula from a Vespera Pro 2? Email it with your total time and sky to [email protected] and it goes here, credited.

Same target, other telescopes

All telescopes for the Eagle Nebula · All targets for the Vespera Pro 2