How long to image the Helix Nebula with the DwarfLab DWARF 3
From a Bortle 6 suburban sky, the DwarfLab DWARF 3 needs about 2 h 28 min (591 subs of 15 s with the built-in dual-band filter) for a solid image of the Helix Nebula. A quick look takes 37 min; a showpiece 9 h 51 min. Under a Bortle 3 rural sky the solid figure drops to 1 h 30 min. At Bortle 6 the limit is a mix of skyglow and read noise. In this scope's field it fills 25% of the frame’s short side.
| Sky | Quick lookTarget obvious, still noisy | SolidClean enough to share | ShowpieceSmooth faint detail, print-worthy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bortle 1Excellent dark site | 21 min85 subs | 1 h 24 min338 subs | 5 h 38 min1,351 subs |
| Bortle 2Typical dark site | 22 min87 subs | 1 h 26 min346 subs | 5 h 45 min1,382 subs |
| Bortle 3Rural | 23 min91 subs | 1 h 30 min361 subs | 6 h1,441 subs |
| Bortle 4Rural / suburban transition | 25 min99 subs | 1 h 39 min396 subs | 6 h 36 min1,583 subs |
| Bortle 5Suburban | 28 min114 subs | 1 h 53 min453 subs | 7 h 32 min1,809 subs |
| Bortle 6Bright suburban | 37 min148 subs | 2 h 28 min591 subs | 9 h 51 min2,364 subs |
| Bortle 7Suburban / urban transition | 53 min214 subs | 3 h 34 min856 subs | 14 h3,421 subs |
| Bortle 8City | 1 h 19 min317 subs | 5 h 16 min1,266 subs | 21 h5,062 subs |
| Bortle 9Inner city | 2 h 14 min536 subs | 8 h 55 min2,141 subs | 36 h8,563 subs |
Power and kit for this session
Allowing for slewing, focusing and rejected subs, that is about 3 h 12 min of run time. The DWARF 3’s battery (rated about 5 h 30 min) should cover it; a power bank still keeps the phone running the app alive. (Bortle 6, solid image; we allow 30% over the integration time.)
- USB-C PD power bank 20000mAh 18W18 W PD input and it runs while charging; needs a C-to-C cable for PD.
- red LED head torchRed light keeps your night vision; white light costs you twenty minutes of dark adaptation every time.
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Everything that fits the DWARF 3 →
How it frames
The Helix Nebula is 25′ × 22′ across. The DWARF 3 frames 2.93° × 1.65° at 2.75″ per pixel, so it fills 25% of the frame’s short side.
Longer subs
Auto mode caps subs at 15 s; 30 s and longer need EQ mode, and 60 s is the ceiling on the tele camera. Time for a solid image by sub length:
| Sub length | Bortle 3 | Bortle 5 | Bortle 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 s | 1 h 30 min361 subs | 1 h 53 min453 subs | 3 h 34 min856 subs |
| 30 s | 1 h 17 min154 subs | 1 h 40 min200 subs | 3 h 20 min401 subs |
| 60 s | 1 h 10 min70 subs | 1 h 33 min94 subs | 3 h 14 min194 subs |
With and without the dual-band filter
| Filter | Bortle 3 | Bortle 5 | Bortle 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astro (no light-pollution filter) | 1 h 32 min368 subs | 2 h 47 min669 subs | 8 h 16 min1,985 subs |
| dual-band | 1 h 30 min361 subs | 1 h 53 min453 subs | 3 h 34 min856 subs |
About the Helix Nebula
The nearest bright planetary nebula, half the Moon's width but spread thin. Low from the UK; dual-band and a couple of hours make the eye appear.
NGC 7293, Caldwell 63 · Planetary nebula in Aquarius · magnitude 7.3 · 25′ × 22′ · best in Aug, Sep, Oct. Reachable from mid-northern latitudes (UK, northern US, central Europe) and from the south.
Planetary nebulae are small but intensely bright per pixel in OIII and H-alpha, so they respond very well to a dual-band filter and do not need much time for the main shell. The faint outer halos most of them have are a different proposition and need hours. Keep subs short if the central region saturates.
About the DwarfLab DWARF 3
Small pixels on a 35 mm f/4.3 lens give a sharper image than its aperture suggests, and EQ mode with 60 s subs makes it the read-noise winner in dark skies.
Auto mode caps subs at 15 s; 30 s and longer need EQ mode, and 60 s is the ceiling on the tele camera. Three built-in filters: VIS, Astro (430 to 690 nm) and dual-band Hα 656 nm / OIII 501 nm.
Longer subs matter most under dark skies, where read noise rather than skyglow sets the floor. From a city the difference between 15 s and 60 s subs is small; from a rural site it can halve the total time, especially with a dual-band filter in place.
Stack across nights. Every smart scope app can continue a stack or you can combine the saved frames on a computer; the figures here are totals, not single-session limits.
Have an image of the Helix Nebula from a DWARF 3? Email it with your total time and sky to [email protected] and it goes here, credited.
Same target, other telescopes
- Helix Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S50: 2 h from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro: 2 h 15 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S30: 2 h 20 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro: 2 h 25 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the DwarfLab DWARF mini: 1 h 58 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the DwarfLab Draco: 1 h 35 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the DwarfLab DWARF II: 11 h from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera II: 3 h 13 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera Pro: 7 h 14 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera 3: 3 h 05 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2: 6 h 53 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the Unistellar eQuinox 2: 2 h 57 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the Unistellar Odyssey: 14 h from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the Celestron Origin: 51 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the Celestron Origin Mark II: 1 h 10 min from Bortle 6
All telescopes for the Helix Nebula · All targets for the DWARF 3