M77

NGC 1068 · Galaxy in Cetus

Magnitude: 8.9
Size: 7′ × 6′
Effective surface brightness: 21.1 mag/arcsec²
Best months: Oct, Nov, Dec
Declination: -0°
Filter: None (broadband target)

A Seyfert galaxy with a blazing core and faint outer arms. The nucleus is easy; the arms are not.

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 M77, 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	16%	14 min85 subs	21 min124 subs	49 min292 subs
ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs	8%	16 min94 subs	23 min136 subs	53 min318 subs
ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs	10%	15 min93 subs	22 min132 subs	50 min300 subs
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs	5%	17 min100 subs	24 min144 subs	56 min336 subs
DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs	7%	19 min78 subs	29 min118 subs	1 h 13 min291 subs
DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs	10%	14 min56 subs	20 min82 subs	49 min195 subs
DwarfLab Draco30 s subs	9%	15 min30 subs	17 min34 subs	40 min81 subs
DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs	7%	56 min225 subs	1 h 14 min296 subs	2 h 32 min608 subs
Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs	8%	14 min85 subs	21 min124 subs	49 min292 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs	7%	33 min200 subs	47 min281 subs	1 h 46 min635 subs
Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs	8%	13 min81 subs	20 min118 subs	47 min280 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs	7%	31 min189 subs	44 min267 subs	1 h 41 min608 subs
Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs	20%	16 min244 subs	20 min304 subs	38 min567 subs
Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs	21%	1 h 23 min1,240 subs	1 h 37 min1,458 subs	2 h 41 min2,414 subs
Celestron Origin10 s subs	14%	5 min30 subs	5 min32 subs	13 min80 subs
Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs	16%	5 min30 subs	7 min44 subs	19 min113 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.

M77

How long with each smart telescope

Imaging the galaxy

Per-telescope pages