How long to image the M86 with the DwarfLab DWARF II
From a Bortle 6 suburban sky, the DwarfLab DWARF II needs about 4 h 57 min (1,189 subs of 15 s) for a solid image of the M86. A quick look takes 1 h 14 min; a showpiece 20 h. Under a Bortle 3 rural sky the solid figure drops to 2 h 33 min. At Bortle 6 the limit is a mix of skyglow and read noise. In this scope's field it fills 8% 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 | 35 min139 subs | 2 h 19 min555 subs | 9 h 14 min2,217 subs |
| Bortle 2Typical dark site | 36 min144 subs | 2 h 23 min574 subs | 9 h 34 min2,295 subs |
| Bortle 3Rural | 38 min153 subs | 2 h 33 min611 subs | 10 h2,442 subs |
| Bortle 4Rural / suburban transition | 44 min175 subs | 2 h 55 min700 subs | 12 h2,799 subs |
| Bortle 5Suburban | 53 min211 subs | 3 h 30 min842 subs | 14 h3,365 subs |
| Bortle 6Bright suburban | 1 h 14 min298 subs | 4 h 57 min1,189 subs | 20 h4,754 subs |
| Bortle 7Suburban / urban transition | 1 h 56 min463 subs | 7 h 42 min1,850 subs | 31 h7,399 subs |
| Bortle 8City | 3 h720 subs | 12 h2,877 subs | 48 h11,506 subs |
| Bortle 9Inner city | 5 h 17 min1,267 subs | 21 h5,067 subs | 84 h20,266 subs |
Power and kit for this session
Allowing for slewing, focusing and rejected subs, that is about 6 h 26 min of run time. The DWARF II’s battery is rated at about 3 h, so the session needs an external power bank. (Bortle 6, solid image; we allow 30% over the integration time.)
- 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.
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Everything that fits the DWARF II →
How it frames
The M86 is 9′ × 6′ across. The DWARF II frames 3.19° × 1.79° at 2.99″ per pixel, so it fills 8% of the frame’s short side.
About the M86
M84's companion in Markarian's Chain, a large elliptical falling into the Virgo cluster.
NGC 4406 · Galaxy in Virgo · magnitude 8.9 · 9′ × 6′ · best in Mar, Apr, May. Reachable from mid-northern latitudes (UK, northern US, central Europe) and from the south.
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.
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 M86 from a DWARF II? Email it with your total time and sky to [email protected] and it goes here, credited.
Same target, other telescopes
- M86 with the ZWO Seestar S50: 1 h 27 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro: 1 h 35 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the ZWO Seestar S30: 1 h 32 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro: 1 h 41 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the DwarfLab DWARF 3: 2 h 07 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the DwarfLab DWARF mini: 1 h 27 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the DwarfLab Draco: 1 h 12 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the Vaonis Vespera II: 1 h 27 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro: 3 h 15 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the Vaonis Vespera 3: 1 h 23 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2: 3 h 06 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the Unistellar eQuinox 2: 1 h 18 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the Unistellar Odyssey: 6 h 02 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the Celestron Origin: 23 min from Bortle 6
- M86 with the Celestron Origin Mark II: 32 min from Bortle 6