How Many Subs

Western Veil Nebula

NGC 6960, Witch’s Broom, Caldwell 34 · Supernova remnant in Cygnus

Magnitude
7.0
Size
70′ × 6′
Effective surface brightness
22.4 mag/arcsec²
Best months
Jul, Aug, Sep
Declination
+31°
Filter
Dual-band recommended

A thin, bright filament of supernova shock running through the star 52 Cygni. A dual-band filter transforms it; without one it drowns in suburban skyglow.

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 Western Veil Nebula, default sub length, recommended filter. Click a cell for the full Bortle 1 to 9 table.
TelescopeBortle 3 (rural)Bortle 5 (suburban)Bortle 7 (urban edge)
ZWO Seestar S5010 s subs, dual-band1 h 49 min652 subs1 h 60 min720 subs2 h 49 min1,017 subs
ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs, dual-band1 h 13 min441 subs1 h 26 min515 subs2 h 19 min836 subs
ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs, dual-band1 h 04 min387 subs1 h 16 min455 subs2 h 05 min752 subs
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs, dual-band1 h 20 min481 subs1 h 33 min558 subs2 h 29 min896 subs
DwarfLab Dwarf 315 s subs, dual-band1 h 47 min429 subs2 h 05 min499 subs3 h 21 min805 subs
DwarfLab Dwarf Mini15 s subs, dual-band53 min211 subs1 h 04 min257 subs1 h 53 min454 subs
DwarfLab Dwarf II15 s subs4 h 11 min1,006 subs5 h 54 min1,417 subs13 h3,212 subs
Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs55 min333 subs1 h 32 min555 subs4 h 14 min1,525 subs
Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs2 h 45 min989 subs4 h 02 min1,455 subs9 h 42 min3,494 subs
Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs1 h 17 min1,162 subs1 h 40 min1,508 subs3 h 21 min3,019 subs
Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs6 h 57 min6,257 subs8 h 21 min7,514 subs14 h13,012 subs
Celestron Origin10 s subs13 min78 subs23 min140 subs1 h 09 min416 subs

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Imaging the supernova remnant

Supernova remnants are emission-line objects, strong in both hydrogen-alpha and OIII, and their filaments are thin, so pixel scale matters as much as aperture. A dual-band filter is essential from any lit sky and still helps under a dark one. These are long-integration targets; plan on several sessions and stack across nights.

Per-telescope pages