How long to image the Helix Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2
From a Bortle 6 suburban sky, the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2 needs about 6 h 53 min (2,481 subs of 10 s) for a solid image of the Helix Nebula. A quick look takes 1 h 43 min; a showpiece 28 h. Under a Bortle 3 rural sky the solid figure drops to 2 h 47 min. At Bortle 6 the limit is skyglow, so a darker site or a filter helps more than longer subs. 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 | 36 min215 subs | 2 h 23 min858 subs | 9 h 32 min3,431 subs |
| Bortle 2Typical dark site | 38 min227 subs | 2 h 31 min908 subs | 10 h3,630 subs |
| Bortle 3Rural | 42 min251 subs | 2 h 47 min1,002 subs | 11 h4,007 subs |
| Bortle 4Rural / suburban transition | 51 min308 subs | 3 h 25 min1,231 subs | 14 h4,921 subs |
| Bortle 5Suburban | 1 h 06 min399 subs | 4 h 25 min1,593 subs | 18 h6,369 subs |
| Bortle 6Bright suburban | 1 h 43 min621 subs | 6 h 53 min2,481 subs | 28 h9,923 subs |
| Bortle 7Suburban / urban transition | 2 h 54 min1,044 subs | 12 h4,174 subs | 46 h16,694 subs |
| Bortle 8City | 4 h 43 min1,701 subs | 19 h6,802 subs | 76 h27,207 subs |
| Bortle 9Inner city | 8 h 37 min3,102 subs | 34 h12,407 subs | 140+ h49,628 subs |
Power and kit for this session
Allowing for slewing, focusing and rejected subs, that is about 8 h 57 min of run time. That is more than one night: over 2 nights, about 4 h 29 min each. The Vespera Pro 2’s battery (rated about 11 h) should cover each night; 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 30WExternal bank extends the 11 h battery.
- 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 Vespera Pro 2 frames 1.65° × 1.65° at 1.68″ per pixel, so it fills 25% of the frame’s short side.
Longer subs
10 s subs by default; Expert Mode manual targets allow 1 to 30 s. Alt-azimuth only; CovalENS mosaic gives 3.2° × 3.2° at 50 MP. Time for a solid image by sub length:
| Sub length | Bortle 3 | Bortle 5 | Bortle 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 s | 2 h 47 min1,002 subs | 4 h 25 min1,593 subs | 12 h4,174 subs |
| 20 s | 2 h 17 min412 subs | 3 h 56 min707 subs | 11 h1,998 subs |
| 30 s | 2 h 07 min255 subs | 3 h 46 min452 subs | 11 h1,312 subs |
With and without the dual-band filter
| Filter | Bortle 3 | Bortle 5 | Bortle 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No filter | 2 h 47 min1,002 subs | 4 h 25 min1,593 subs | 12 h4,174 subs |
| dual-band (Dual Band filter), clip-on | 3 h 33 min1,280 subs | 4 h 03 min1,461 subs | 6 h 15 min2,251 subs |
The Vespera Pro 2 has no built-in dual-band filter. Optional clip-on Vaonis filters: dual-band, light-pollution (CLS) and solar. On an emission target like this it is the single biggest upgrade you can make.
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 Vaonis Vespera Pro 2
The square-sensor 2026 Vespera with 2 µm pixels. Sharper than the Vespera 3 on small targets and correspondingly slower per pixel; the 12.5 MP square frame suits galaxies and planetaries.
10 s subs by default; Expert Mode manual targets allow 1 to 30 s. Alt-azimuth only; CovalENS mosaic gives 3.2° × 3.2° at 50 MP. Optional clip-on Vaonis filters: dual-band, light-pollution (CLS) and solar.
Longer subs matter most under dark skies, where read noise rather than skyglow sets the floor. From a city the difference between 10 s and 30 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 Vespera Pro 2? 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 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 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 Vespera Pro 2