M69
NGC 6637 · Globular cluster in Sagittarius
- Magnitude
- 7.6
- Size
- 9.8′
- Effective surface brightness
- 20.9 mag/arcsec²
- Best months
- Jun, Jul, Aug
- Declination
- -32°
- Filter
- None (broadband target)
A small, metal-rich globular near the Sagittarius teapot's base. Low from the north.
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 | 23% | 8 min49 subs | 12 min70 subs | 27 min161 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs | 12% | 9 min54 subs | 13 min77 subs | 29 min175 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs | 14% | 9 min53 subs | 12 min74 subs | 27 min165 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs | 7% | 10 min58 subs | 13 min81 subs | 31 min185 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs | 10% | 11 min45 subs | 17 min67 subs | 40 min161 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs | 14% | 8 min33 subs | 12 min47 subs | 27 min107 subs |
| DwarfLab Draco30 s subs | 13% | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 22 min45 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs | 9% | 32 min127 subs | 41 min166 subs | 1 h 23 min334 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs | 11% | 8 min49 subs | 12 min70 subs | 27 min161 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs | 10% | 19 min114 subs | 26 min158 subs | 58 min350 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs | 11% | 8 min47 subs | 11 min67 subs | 26 min154 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs | 10% | 18 min109 subs | 25 min151 subs | 56 min334 subs |
| Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs | 29% | 9 min137 subs | 11 min169 subs | 21 min311 subs |
| Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs | 29% | 46 min687 subs | 54 min805 subs | 1 h 28 min1,321 subs |
| Celestron Origin10 s subs | 19% | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 7 min44 subs |
| Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs | 22% | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 10 min62 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 M69 with the ZWO Seestar S50
- How long to image the M69 with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro
- How long to image the M69 with the ZWO Seestar S30
- How long to image the M69 with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro
- How long to image the M69 with the DwarfLab DWARF 3
- How long to image the M69 with the DwarfLab DWARF mini
- How long to image the M69 with the DwarfLab Draco
- How long to image the M69 with the DwarfLab DWARF II
- How long to image the M69 with the Vaonis Vespera II
- How long to image the M69 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro
- How long to image the M69 with the Vaonis Vespera 3
- How long to image the M69 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2
- How long to image the M69 with the Unistellar eQuinox 2
- How long to image the M69 with the Unistellar Odyssey
- How long to image the M69 with the Celestron Origin
- How long to image the M69 with the Celestron Origin Mark II