Pleiades
M45, Seven Sisters · Reflection nebula in Taurus
- Magnitude
- 1.6
- Size
- 110′
- Effective surface brightness
- 22.5 mag/arcsec²
- Best months
- Oct, Nov, Dec
- Declination
- +24°
- Filter
- None (broadband target)
The stars take seconds. The blue reflection nebulosity around them is faint and needs hours from any sky, and no filter helps because it is starlight, not emission.
Reachable from mid-northern latitudes (UK, northern US, central Europe) and from the south.
How long with each smart telescope
| Telescope | Bortle 3 (rural) | Bortle 5 (suburban) | Bortle 7 (urban edge) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZWO Seestar S5010 s subs | 1 h 24 min505 subs | 2 h 05 min748 subs | 5 h 02 min1,811 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs | 1 h 07 min404 subs | 1 h 51 min667 subs | 5 h 03 min1,817 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs | 1 h362 subs | 1 h 41 min605 subs | 4 h 38 min1,669 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs | 1 h 12 min433 subs | 1 h 58 min710 subs | 5 h 20 min1,920 subs |
| DwarfLab Dwarf 315 s subs | 1 h 37 min389 subs | 2 h 40 min640 subs | 7 h 14 min1,735 subs |
| DwarfLab Dwarf Mini15 s subs | 54 min216 subs | 1 h 34 min378 subs | 4 h 32 min1,087 subs |
| DwarfLab Dwarf II15 s subs | 4 h 34 min1,097 subs | 6 h 27 min1,548 subs | 15 h3,516 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs | 1 h362 subs | 1 h 41 min605 subs | 4 h 38 min1,669 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs | 2 h 60 min1,078 subs | 4 h 25 min1,589 subs | 11 h3,825 subs |
| Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs | 1 h 25 min1,270 subs | 1 h 50 min1,649 subs | 3 h 40 min3,305 subs |
| Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs | 7 h 36 min6,843 subs | 9 h 08 min8,222 subs | 16 h14,250 subs |
| Celestron Origin10 s subs | 14 min84 subs | 25 min153 subs | 1 h 16 min455 subs |
Imaging the reflection nebula
Reflection nebulae are starlight scattered by dust, so they are broadband and blue. A dual-band filter removes almost all of it; do not use one. These are among the faintest structures a smart scope can attempt and the figures run long. A dark sky matters more here than for any other type, and the Moon must be down.
Per-telescope pages
- How long to image the Pleiades with the ZWO Seestar S50
- How long to image the Pleiades with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro
- How long to image the Pleiades with the ZWO Seestar S30
- How long to image the Pleiades with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro
- How long to image the Pleiades with the DwarfLab Dwarf 3
- How long to image the Pleiades with the DwarfLab Dwarf Mini
- How long to image the Pleiades with the DwarfLab Dwarf II
- How long to image the Pleiades with the Vaonis Vespera II
- How long to image the Pleiades with the Vaonis Vespera Pro
- How long to image the Pleiades with the Unistellar eQuinox 2
- How long to image the Pleiades with the Unistellar Odyssey
- How long to image the Pleiades with the Celestron Origin