How Many Subs

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

Total integration for a solid image of the Pleiades, default sub length, recommended filter, and how much of each frame it fills. Click a cell for the full Bortle 1 to 9 table.
TelescopeIn frameBortle 3 (rural)Bortle 5 (suburban)Bortle 7 (urban edge)
ZWO Seestar S5010 s subs2.6× frame1 h362 subs1 h 41 min605 subs4 h 38 min1,669 subs
ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs1.3× frame1 h 07 min404 subs1 h 51 min667 subs5 h 03 min1,817 subs
ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs1.5× frame1 h 09 min412 subs1 h 49 min656 subs4 h 46 min1,719 subs
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs82%1 h 12 min433 subs1 h 58 min710 subs5 h 20 min1,920 subs
DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs1.1× frame1 h 18 min312 subs2 h 20 min562 subs6 h 54 min1,657 subs
DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs1.5× frame1 h239 subs1 h 40 min401 subs4 h 37 min1,110 subs
DwarfLab Draco30 s subs1.5× frame48 min97 subs1 h 22 min164 subs3 h 50 min460 subs
DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs1.0× frame4 h 34 min1,097 subs6 h 27 min1,548 subs15 h3,516 subs
Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs1.3× frame1 h362 subs1 h 41 min605 subs4 h 38 min1,669 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs1.1× frame2 h 29 min897 subs3 h 55 min1,408 subs10 h3,643 subs
Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs1.3× frame57 min343 subs1 h 36 min576 subs4 h 26 min1,597 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs1.1× frame2 h 21 min845 subs3 h 43 min1,336 subs9 h 40 min3,483 subs
Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs3.2× frame1 h 25 min1,270 subs1 h 50 min1,649 subs3 h 40 min3,305 subs
Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs3.3× frame7 h 36 min6,843 subs9 h 08 min8,222 subs16 h14,250 subs
Celestron Origin10 s subs2.1× frame14 min84 subs25 min153 subs1 h 16 min455 subs
Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs2.5× frame17 min103 subs34 min202 subs1 h 46 min637 subs

Open in the calculator

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