How long to image the Helix Nebula with the DwarfLab Draco
From a Bortle 6 suburban sky, the DwarfLab Draco needs about 1 h 35 min (190 subs of 30 s with the built-in dual-narrowband (Hα + OIII) filter) for a solid image of the Helix Nebula. A quick look takes 24 min; a showpiece 6 h 19 min. Under a Bortle 3 rural sky the solid figure drops to 1 h 04 min. At Bortle 6 the limit is a mix of skyglow and read noise. In this scope's field it fills 34% 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 | 15 min31 subs | 1 h 01 min122 subs | 4 h 02 min485 subs |
| Bortle 2Typical dark site | 15 min31 subs | 1 h 02 min124 subs | 4 h 06 min493 subs |
| Bortle 3Rural | 16 min32 subs | 1 h 04 min128 subs | 4 h 14 min509 subs |
| Bortle 4Rural / suburban transition | 17 min35 subs | 1 h 08 min137 subs | 4 h 34 min548 subs |
| Bortle 5Suburban | 19 min39 subs | 1 h 16 min153 subs | 5 h 04 min609 subs |
| Bortle 6Bright suburban | 24 min48 subs | 1 h 35 min190 subs | 6 h 19 min759 subs |
| Bortle 7Suburban / urban transition | 33 min66 subs | 2 h 10 min261 subs | 8 h 42 min1,044 subs |
| Bortle 8City | 46 min93 subs | 3 h 06 min372 subs | 12 h1,487 subs |
| Bortle 9Inner city | 1 h 16 min152 subs | 5 h 04 min608 subs | 20 h2,431 subs |
Power and kit for this session
Allowing for slewing, focusing and rejected subs, that is about 2 h 03 min of run time. The Draco’s battery (rated about 5 h) 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 20000mAhRated 5 h on its 10,000 mAh battery. DwarfLab has not published the charging input, so check PD support before relying on it mid-session.
- red LED head torchRed light keeps your night vision; white light costs you twenty minutes of dark adaptation every time.
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How it frames
The Helix Nebula is 25′ × 22′ across. The Draco frames 1.66° × 1.24° at 1.46″ per pixel, so it fills 34% of the frame’s short side.
Longer subs
Auto Mode picks the exposure; Pro Mode allows up to 300 s, held by built-in guiding and field derotation. The 30 s default here is our assumption. Time for a solid image by sub length:
| Sub length | Bortle 3 | Bortle 5 | Bortle 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 s | 1 h 04 min128 subs | 1 h 16 min153 subs | 2 h 10 min261 subs |
| 60 s | 46 min47 subs | 59 min59 subs | 1 h 53 min113 subs |
| 120 s | 1 h30 subs | 1 h30 subs | 1 h 44 min53 subs |
| 300 s | 2 h 30 min30 subs | 2 h 30 min30 subs | 2 h 30 min30 subs |
With and without the dual-band filter
| Filter | Bortle 3 | Bortle 5 | Bortle 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No filter | 57 min114 subs | 1 h 38 min196 subs | 4 h 35 min551 subs |
| dual-narrowband (Hα + OIII) | 1 h 04 min128 subs | 1 h 16 min153 subs | 2 h 10 min261 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 Draco
DwarfLab’s big scope: 90 mm of folded f/3.8 optics, the most aperture of any Seestar or DWARF, a narrow 13 nm dual-band filter and 300 s subs with built-in guiding. A small-target scope; big nebulae need its mosaic mode.
Auto Mode picks the exposure; Pro Mode allows up to 300 s, held by built-in guiding and field derotation. The 30 s default here is our assumption. Built-in Hα + OIII dual-narrowband filter, 13 nm per line; the SHO Edition adds an SII option.
Longer subs matter most under dark skies, where read noise rather than skyglow sets the floor. From a city the difference between 30 s and 300 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 Draco? 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 3: 2 h 28 min from Bortle 6
- Helix Nebula with the DwarfLab DWARF mini: 1 h 58 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 Draco