How Many Subs

Hamburger Galaxy

NGC 3628 · Galaxy in Leo

Magnitude
9.5
Size
15′ × 3.6′
Effective surface brightness
22.5 mag/arcsec²
Best months
Feb, Mar, Apr
Declination
+14°
Filter
None (broadband target)

The third member of the Leo Triplet, an edge-on with a thick dust lane and a faint tidal tail.

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 Hamburger Galaxy, default sub length, recommended filter, and how much of each frame it fills. Click a cell for the full Bortle 1 to 9 table.
TelescopeIn frameBortle 3 (rural)Bortle 5 (suburban)Bortle 7 (urban edge)
ZWO Seestar S5010 s subs35%56 min338 subs1 h 34 min564 subs4 h 18 min1,551 subs
ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs18%1 h 03 min377 subs1 h 43 min621 subs4 h 41 min1,689 subs
ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs21%1 h 04 min385 subs1 h 42 min611 subs4 h 26 min1,597 subs
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs11%1 h 07 min405 subs1 h 50 min662 subs4 h 57 min1,784 subs
DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs15%1 h 13 min292 subs2 h 11 min524 subs6 h 25 min1,540 subs
DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs21%56 min223 subs1 h 33 min373 subs4 h 18 min1,031 subs
DwarfLab Draco30 s subs20%45 min90 subs1 h 16 min153 subs3 h 33 min427 subs
DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs14%4 h 15 min1,022 subs6 h1,440 subs14 h3,268 subs
Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs17%56 min338 subs1 h 34 min564 subs4 h 18 min1,551 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs15%2 h 19 min837 subs3 h 39 min1,312 subs9 h 24 min3,386 subs
Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs17%53 min320 subs1 h 29 min537 subs4 h 07 min1,485 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs15%2 h 11 min789 subs3 h 27 min1,245 subs8 h 59 min3,237 subs
Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs44%1 h 19 min1,182 subs1 h 42 min1,534 subs3 h 25 min3,071 subs
Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs45%7 h 04 min6,364 subs8 h 30 min7,644 subs15 h13,237 subs
Celestron Origin10 s subs29%13 min79 subs24 min143 subs1 h 10 min423 subs
Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs34%16 min97 subs31 min189 subs1 h 39 min592 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.

Per-telescope pages