M62
NGC 6266 · Globular cluster in Ophiuchus
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Size
- 15′
- Effective surface brightness
- 20.8 mag/arcsec²
- Best months
- May, Jun, Jul
- Declination
- -30°
- Filter
- None (broadband target)
A bright but lopsided globular near the galactic centre, low from northern latitudes.
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 | 35% | 5 min30 subs | 6 min35 subs | 13 min78 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs | 18% | 5 min30 subs | 6 min39 subs | 14 min85 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs | 21% | 5 min30 subs | 6 min37 subs | 13 min80 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs | 11% | 5 min30 subs | 7 min41 subs | 15 min90 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs | 15% | 8 min30 subs | 8 min34 subs | 19 min78 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs | 21% | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 13 min52 subs |
| DwarfLab Draco30 s subs | 20% | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs | 14% | 16 min64 subs | 20 min82 subs | 40 min162 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs | 17% | 5 min30 subs | 6 min35 subs | 13 min78 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs | 15% | 10 min58 subs | 13 min79 subs | 28 min170 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs | 17% | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 12 min75 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs | 15% | 9 min55 subs | 12 min75 subs | 27 min162 subs |
| Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs | 44% | 4 min68 subs | 6 min83 subs | 10 min150 subs |
| Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs | 45% | 22 min336 subs | 26 min392 subs | 42 min636 subs |
| Celestron Origin10 s subs | 29% | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs | 34% | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 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 M62 with the ZWO Seestar S50
- How long to image the M62 with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro
- How long to image the M62 with the ZWO Seestar S30
- How long to image the M62 with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro
- How long to image the M62 with the DwarfLab DWARF 3
- How long to image the M62 with the DwarfLab DWARF mini
- How long to image the M62 with the DwarfLab Draco
- How long to image the M62 with the DwarfLab DWARF II
- How long to image the M62 with the Vaonis Vespera II
- How long to image the M62 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro
- How long to image the M62 with the Vaonis Vespera 3
- How long to image the M62 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2
- How long to image the M62 with the Unistellar eQuinox 2
- How long to image the M62 with the Unistellar Odyssey
- How long to image the M62 with the Celestron Origin
- How long to image the M62 with the Celestron Origin Mark II