M59

NGC 4621 · Galaxy in Virgo

Magnitude: 9.6
Size: 5′ × 3.5′
Effective surface brightness: 21.3 mag/arcsec²
Best months: Mar, Apr, May
Declination: +12°
Filter: None (broadband target)

An elliptical galaxy in Virgo, close to M60. A smudge, but a bright one.

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 M59, 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	12%	21 min128 subs	32 min192 subs	1 h 19 min473 subs
ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs	6%	24 min142 subs	35 min211 subs	1 h 26 min514 subs
ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs	7%	24 min142 subs	34 min206 subs	1 h 21 min486 subs
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs	4%	25 min152 subs	37 min225 subs	1 h 30 min543 subs
DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs	5%	29 min116 subs	45 min182 subs	1 h 58 min471 subs
DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs	7%	21 min85 subs	32 min128 subs	1 h 19 min315 subs
DwarfLab Draco30 s subs	7%	17 min35 subs	26 min53 subs	1 h 05 min131 subs
DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs	5%	1 h 27 min350 subs	1 h 57 min468 subs	4 h 07 min988 subs
Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs	6%	21 min128 subs	32 min192 subs	1 h 19 min473 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs	5%	51 min305 subs	1 h 13 min440 subs	2 h 51 min1,029 subs
Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs	6%	20 min122 subs	30 min183 subs	1 h 15 min453 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs	5%	48 min289 subs	1 h 10 min418 subs	2 h 44 min984 subs
Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs	15%	26 min386 subs	32 min486 subs	1 h 01 min922 subs
Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs	15%	2 h 13 min1,989 subs	2 h 37 min2,352 subs	4 h 23 min3,941 subs
Celestron Origin10 s subs	10%	5 min32 subs	8 min50 subs	21 min129 subs
Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs	11%	7 min41 subs	11 min67 subs	30 min182 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.

M59

How long with each smart telescope

Imaging the galaxy

Per-telescope pages