Needle Galaxy

NGC 4565, Caldwell 38 · Galaxy in Coma Berenices

Magnitude: 9.6
Size: 16′ × 2′
Effective surface brightness: 22.0 mag/arcsec²
Best months: Mar, Apr, May
Declination: +26°
Filter: None (broadband target)

The finest edge-on spiral in the northern sky, a thin needle with a central bulge and dust lane.

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 Needle 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.
Telescope	In frame	Bortle 3 (rural)	Bortle 5 (suburban)	Bortle 7 (urban edge)
ZWO Seestar S5010 s subs	37%	26 min157 subs	42 min253 subs	1 h 51 min669 subs
ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs	19%	29 min175 subs	46 min278 subs	2 h 01 min728 subs
ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs	22%	29 min177 subs	45 min272 subs	1 h 55 min689 subs
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs	12%	31 min187 subs	49 min296 subs	2 h 08 min770 subs
DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs	16%	34 min138 subs	59 min236 subs	2 h 46 min665 subs
DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs	22%	26 min104 subs	42 min167 subs	1 h 51 min445 subs
DwarfLab Draco30 s subs	21%	21 min42 subs	34 min69 subs	1 h 32 min185 subs
DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs	15%	1 h 54 min458 subs	2 h 38 min634 subs	5 h 51 min1,406 subs
Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs	19%	26 min157 subs	42 min253 subs	1 h 51 min669 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs	16%	1 h 04 min383 subs	1 h 37 min584 subs	4 h 03 min1,459 subs
Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs	18%	25 min149 subs	40 min241 subs	1 h 47 min641 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs	16%	1 h362 subs	1 h 32 min554 subs	3 h 52 min1,395 subs
Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs	47%	35 min521 subs	45 min670 subs	1 h 28 min1,319 subs
Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs	48%	3 h 04 min2,767 subs	3 h 40 min3,307 subs	6 h 18 min5,669 subs
Celestron Origin10 s subs	31%	6 min38 subs	11 min65 subs	30 min183 subs
Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs	36%	8 min47 subs	14 min86 subs	43 min256 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.

Needle Galaxy

How long with each smart telescope

Imaging the galaxy

Per-telescope pages