From 8 Minutes to 157 Hours: One Year of Deep-Sky Imaging success with the DWARF 3
M51 was the first target with the Dwarf 3. August 2025, Alt-Az mode, 8 minutes and 30 seconds of 15-second subs on a galaxy low in the summer sky. The telescope was…
Long Integration
Posts documenting or discussing imaging sessions with total integration times exceeding 3 hours on the DWARF 3.
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East and West Veil Nebula with the DWARF 3: Cygnus’s Glowing Lace, Ten Thousand Years in the Making
The Veil Nebula is light that left its source somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, and it’s still arriving as some of the finest, most delicate filament structure in the sky.…
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Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (IC1396) with the DWARF 3: 5 Hours on a Star-Forming Globule
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula, IC1396, is a dark cloud with dozens of new stars condensing inside it right now, lit along one edge by a neighboring star system bright enough to set…
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Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888) with the DWARF 3: 13 Hours on One of the Rarest Light Shows in the Sky
The Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, is a shell of glowing gas being shaped right now by a star passing through one of the shortest, rarest stages in a massive star’s life, and…
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Borrowed Light: Capturing M78 Nebula with the DWARF 3
What You Will Learn In this post I share my February 2026 DWARF 3 image of M78 nebula (aka the friendly ghost nebula), a reflection nebula in Orion. I cover what makes…
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M63 Sunflower Galaxy with the Dwarf 3: 4h 50m from Bortle 6
A 4 hour 50 minute integration of M63, the Sunflower Galaxy, from a Bortle 6 backyard using the DwarfLab Dwarf 3 in EQ mode with Astro filter and temperature-matched dark frames.
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Heart Nebula IC 1805 with the DWARF 3
A 3 hour 52 minute DWARF 3 session on the Heart Nebula (IC 1805) in Cassiopeia using the Duo-Band filter under Bortle 6 skies. Documents the challenge of imaging a large emission…
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Star Trails with the Dwarf 3: First Test of Star Trail Mode (720 × 30s)
DwarfLab recently added a dedicated Star Trail Mode to the Dwarf 3 app. This is my first test of it. 720 frames at 30 seconds each, six hours total, stacked in real…
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M101 Pinwheel Galaxy: 6 Hours on a Face-On Spiral with the DWARF 3
A single-session DWARF 3 imaging project on M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy in Ursa Major. 6 hours and 18 minutes of total integration at 60-second sub-exposures, gain 50, Astro filter, Bortle 6. Documents…
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Astrophotography Insights: 15 Hours on M106 and Its Companions
A three-session DWARF 3 imaging project on M106, a Seyfert galaxy in Canes Venatici. 15 hours and 31 minutes of total integration, four companion galaxies in the field including NGC 4226 at…