M89

NGC 4552 · Galaxy in Virgo

Magnitude: 9.8
Size: 5′ × 4′
Effective surface brightness: 21.7 mag/arcsec²
Best months: Mar, Apr, May
Declination: +13°
Filter: None (broadband target)

An almost perfectly round elliptical near M87. Another smudge for the Virgo collection.

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 M89, 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	12%	36 min216 subs	56 min338 subs	2 h 24 min867 subs
ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs	6%	40 min240 subs	1 h 02 min371 subs	2 h 37 min943 subs
ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs	7%	40 min241 subs	1 h362 subs	2 h 29 min892 subs
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs	4%	43 min257 subs	1 h 06 min395 subs	2 h 46 min997 subs
DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs	5%	48 min192 subs	1 h 19 min317 subs	3 h 35 min862 subs
DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs	7%	36 min143 subs	56 min224 subs	2 h 24 min576 subs
DwarfLab Draco30 s subs	7%	29 min58 subs	46 min92 subs	1 h 59 min239 subs
DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs	5%	2 h 33 min613 subs	3 h 29 min837 subs	7 h 34 min1,817 subs
Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs	6%	36 min216 subs	56 min338 subs	2 h 24 min867 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs	5%	1 h 27 min522 subs	2 h 09 min777 subs	5 h 15 min1,889 subs
Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs	6%	34 min205 subs	54 min322 subs	2 h 18 min830 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs	5%	1 h 22 min493 subs	2 h 03 min738 subs	5 h 01 min1,807 subs
Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs	15%	46 min688 subs	58 min877 subs	1 h 53 min1,701 subs
Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs	15%	4 h 01 min3,610 subs	4 h 46 min4,297 subs	8 h 06 min7,297 subs
Celestron Origin10 s subs	10%	9 min52 subs	14 min87 subs	39 min237 subs
Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs	11%	11 min66 subs	19 min116 subs	55 min332 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.

M89

How long with each smart telescope

Imaging the galaxy

Per-telescope pages