M2
NGC 7089 · Globular cluster in Aquarius
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Size
- 16′
- Effective surface brightness
- 20.9 mag/arcsec²
- Best months
- Jul, Aug, Sep
- Declination
- -1°
- Filter
- None (broadband target)
A rich, compact globular in Aquarius. Resolves well at the edges even in a short stack.
Reachable from mid-northern latitudes (UK, northern US, central Europe) and from the south.
How long with each smart telescope
| Telescope | In frame | Bortle 3 (rural) | Bortle 5 (suburban) | Bortle 7 (urban edge) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZWO Seestar S5010 s subs | 37% | 5 min31 subs | 7 min43 subs | 16 min99 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs | 19% | 6 min34 subs | 8 min48 subs | 18 min108 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs | 22% | 5 min33 subs | 8 min46 subs | 17 min102 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs | 12% | 6 min36 subs | 8 min51 subs | 19 min114 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs | 16% | 8 min30 subs | 10 min42 subs | 25 min99 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs | 22% | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 16 min66 subs |
| DwarfLab Draco30 s subs | 21% | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs | 15% | 20 min79 subs | 25 min102 subs | 51 min206 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs | 19% | 5 min31 subs | 7 min43 subs | 16 min99 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs | 16% | 12 min71 subs | 16 min98 subs | 36 min215 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs | 18% | 5 min30 subs | 7 min42 subs | 16 min95 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs | 16% | 11 min68 subs | 15 min93 subs | 34 min206 subs |
| Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs | 47% | 6 min85 subs | 7 min104 subs | 13 min191 subs |
| Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs | 48% | 28 min423 subs | 33 min495 subs | 54 min811 subs |
| Celestron Origin10 s subs | 31% | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs | 36% | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 6 min38 subs |
Imaging the globular cluster
Globular clusters are point sources packed tight, so they come quickly: the core resolves into stars within a handful of minutes on any smart scope. More time deepens the halo and pulls in the faint outer members. Use short subs so the core does not saturate into a white blob, and no filter.
Per-telescope pages
- How long to image the M2 with the ZWO Seestar S50
- How long to image the M2 with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro
- How long to image the M2 with the ZWO Seestar S30
- How long to image the M2 with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro
- How long to image the M2 with the DwarfLab DWARF 3
- How long to image the M2 with the DwarfLab DWARF mini
- How long to image the M2 with the DwarfLab Draco
- How long to image the M2 with the DwarfLab DWARF II
- How long to image the M2 with the Vaonis Vespera II
- How long to image the M2 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro
- How long to image the M2 with the Vaonis Vespera 3
- How long to image the M2 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2
- How long to image the M2 with the Unistellar eQuinox 2
- How long to image the M2 with the Unistellar Odyssey
- How long to image the M2 with the Celestron Origin
- How long to image the M2 with the Celestron Origin Mark II