How long to image the M78 with the DwarfLab DWARF II
From a Bortle 6 suburban sky, the DwarfLab DWARF II needs about 3 h 32 min (850 subs of 15 s) for a solid image of the M78. A quick look takes 53 min; a showpiece 14 h. Under a Bortle 3 rural sky the solid figure drops to 1 h 52 min. At Bortle 6 the limit is a mix of skyglow and read noise. In this scope's field it fills 7% of the frame’s short side.
| Sky | Quick lookTarget obvious, still noisy | SolidClean enough to share | ShowpieceSmooth faint detail, print-worthy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bortle 1Excellent dark site | 25 min102 subs | 1 h 42 min408 subs | 6 h 47 min1,629 subs |
| Bortle 2Typical dark site | 26 min106 subs | 1 h 45 min421 subs | 7 h 01 min1,684 subs |
| Bortle 3Rural | 28 min112 subs | 1 h 52 min447 subs | 7 h 26 min1,786 subs |
| Bortle 4Rural / suburban transition | 32 min128 subs | 2 h 07 min509 subs | 8 h 29 min2,036 subs |
| Bortle 5Suburban | 38 min152 subs | 2 h 32 min608 subs | 10 h2,430 subs |
| Bortle 6Bright suburban | 53 min213 subs | 3 h 32 min850 subs | 14 h3,399 subs |
| Bortle 7Suburban / urban transition | 1 h 22 min328 subs | 5 h 28 min1,311 subs | 22 h5,244 subs |
| Bortle 8City | 2 h 07 min507 subs | 8 h 27 min2,028 subs | 34 h8,109 subs |
| Bortle 9Inner city | 3 h 42 min889 subs | 15 h3,555 subs | 59 h14,220 subs |
Power and kit for this session
Allowing for slewing, focusing and rejected subs, that is about 4 h 36 min of run time. The DWARF II’s battery is rated at about 3 h, less near freezing, so the session needs an external power bank. (Bortle 6, solid image; we allow 30% over the integration time, and 30% off the battery for a December night.)
- USB-C PD power bank 10000mAh 18W18 W PD input; runs while charging.
- red LED head torchRed light keeps your night vision; white light costs you twenty minutes of dark adaptation every time.
- hand warmers long lastingAir-activated packs give hours of heat for the person; winter nights are long and you spend most of them standing still.
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Everything that fits the DWARF II →
How it frames
The M78 is 8′ × 6′ across. The DWARF II frames 3.19° × 1.79° at 2.99″ per pixel, so it fills 7% of the frame’s short side.
About the M78
The brightest reflection nebula in the sky, blue dust lit by young stars in Orion's belt. No filter; it is starlight.
NGC 2068 · Reflection nebula in Orion · magnitude 8.3 · 8′ × 6′ · best in Nov, Dec, Jan. Reachable from mid-northern latitudes (UK, northern US, central Europe) and from the south.
Reflection nebulae are starlight scattered by dust, so they are broadband and blue. A dual-band filter removes almost all of it; do not use one. These are among the faintest structures a smart scope can attempt and the figures run long. A dark sky matters more here than for any other type, and the Moon must be down.
About the DwarfLab DWARF II
The original pocket scope. 24 mm aperture and tiny 1.45 µm pixels mean it is slow per pixel, so bin or downsample and be patient.
15 s is the hard maximum in any mode; DwarfLab recommends EQ mode at 15 s. Two built-in filters, VIS and Astro (IR-pass); no dual-band. The optional UHC filter is no longer sold.
The DWARF II uses fixed 15 s subs, so the only levers you have are the sky you shoot from, the filter, and total time.
Stack across nights. Every smart scope app can continue a stack or you can combine the saved frames on a computer; the figures here are totals, not single-session limits.
Have an image of the M78 from a DWARF II? Email it with your total time and sky to [email protected] and it goes here, credited.
Same target, other telescopes
- M78 with the ZWO Seestar S50: 1 h 03 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro: 1 h 09 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the ZWO Seestar S30: 1 h 06 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro: 1 h 13 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the DwarfLab DWARF 3: 1 h 31 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the DwarfLab DWARF mini: 1 h 02 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the DwarfLab Draco: 52 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the Vaonis Vespera II: 1 h 03 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro: 2 h 20 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the Vaonis Vespera 3: 1 h from Bortle 6
- M78 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2: 2 h 13 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the Unistellar eQuinox 2: 56 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the Unistellar Odyssey: 4 h 16 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the Celestron Origin: 17 min from Bortle 6
- M78 with the Celestron Origin Mark II: 23 min from Bortle 6