M94

NGC 4736, Cat’s Eye Galaxy · Galaxy in Canes Venatici

Magnitude: 8.2
Size: 11′ × 9′
Effective surface brightness: 21.3 mag/arcsec²
Best months: Mar, Apr, May
Declination: +41°
Filter: None (broadband target)

A galaxy with a blazing inner ring and a very faint outer one. The core arrives fast; the outer ring is a long-integration project.

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 M94, 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	26%	13 min76 subs	19 min113 subs	46 min278 subs
ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs	13%	14 min84 subs	21 min125 subs	50 min302 subs
ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs	15%	14 min84 subs	20 min121 subs	47 min285 subs
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs	8%	15 min90 subs	22 min132 subs	53 min319 subs
DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs	11%	17 min69 subs	27 min107 subs	1 h 09 min276 subs
DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs	15%	12 min50 subs	19 min75 subs	46 min185 subs
DwarfLab Draco30 s subs	15%	15 min30 subs	15 min31 subs	38 min77 subs
DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs	10%	51 min206 subs	1 h 09 min276 subs	2 h 25 min580 subs
Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs	13%	13 min76 subs	19 min113 subs	46 min278 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs	11%	30 min180 subs	43 min259 subs	1 h 41 min604 subs
Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs	13%	12 min72 subs	18 min108 subs	44 min266 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs	11%	28 min170 subs	41 min246 subs	1 h 36 min578 subs
Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs	32%	15 min227 subs	19 min285 subs	36 min541 subs
Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs	33%	1 h 18 min1,168 subs	1 h 32 min1,381 subs	2 h 34 min2,312 subs
Celestron Origin10 s subs	21%	5 min30 subs	5 min30 subs	13 min76 subs
Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs	25%	5 min30 subs	7 min40 subs	18 min107 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.

M94

How long with each smart telescope

Imaging the galaxy

Per-telescope pages