M49

NGC 4472 · Galaxy in Virgo

Magnitude: 8.4
Size: 10′ × 8′
Effective surface brightness: 21.8 mag/arcsec²
Best months: Mar, Apr, May
Declination: +8°
Filter: None (broadband target)

The brightest galaxy in the Virgo cluster, a featureless elliptical. Comes quickly but shows no structure.

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 M49, default sub length, recommended filter, and how much of each frame it fills. Click a cell for the full Bortle 1 to 9 table.
Telescope	In frame	Bortle 3 (rural)	Bortle 5 (suburban)	Bortle 7 (urban edge)
ZWO Seestar S5010 s subs	23%	28 min170 subs	45 min268 subs	1 h 56 min696 subs
ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs	12%	31 min189 subs	49 min295 subs	2 h 06 min758 subs
ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs	14%	32 min190 subs	48 min288 subs	1 h 59 min717 subs
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs	7%	34 min202 subs	52 min314 subs	2 h 13 min801 subs
DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs	10%	38 min151 subs	1 h 03 min252 subs	2 h 53 min693 subs
DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs	14%	28 min112 subs	44 min178 subs	1 h 56 min463 subs
DwarfLab Draco30 s subs	13%	23 min46 subs	36 min73 subs	1 h 36 min192 subs
DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs	9%	2 h 02 min487 subs	2 h 47 min668 subs	6 h 05 min1,461 subs
Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs	12%	28 min170 subs	45 min268 subs	1 h 56 min696 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs	10%	1 h 09 min412 subs	1 h 43 min618 subs	4 h 13 min1,518 subs
Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs	11%	27 min161 subs	42 min255 subs	1 h 51 min667 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs	10%	1 h 05 min389 subs	1 h 38 min587 subs	4 h 02 min1,452 subs
Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs	29%	37 min549 subs	47 min702 subs	1 h 31 min1,369 subs
Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs	30%	3 h 13 min2,893 subs	3 h 50 min3,448 subs	6 h 32 min5,876 subs
Celestron Origin10 s subs	20%	7 min41 subs	11 min69 subs	32 min190 subs
Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs	22%	9 min52 subs	15 min92 subs	44 min267 subs

Open in the calculator

Imaging the galaxy

Galaxies are broadband targets: their light is mostly starlight spread across the spectrum, so a dual-band filter throws most of it away and makes things slower, not faster. Shoot without a filter (or with a plain UV/IR cut) and rely on total time and a dark sky. The core of a galaxy is usually many times brighter than its outer disc, so a short stack shows the nucleus long before the arms; the figures here are for the arms and disc, not the core.

Field rotation in Alt-Az mode crops the edges of the stack over a long session, so on a big galaxy re-centre now and then or use EQ mode where your scope supports it.

M49

How long with each smart telescope

Imaging the galaxy

Per-telescope pages