My Equipment
Skywatcher 150P reflecting (Newtonian) telescope.
focal length: 750mm
aperture: 150mm
focal ratio: f/5
A great scope to start out with, to this date I have still not changed it. I use it for both visual observing and imaging. Large enough to see some of the faintest deep sky objects yet small enough to easily be part of a portable set up. Although this scope leans slightly towards being optimized for deep sky observations it still gives great views of Jupiter and Saturn and has resolved subtle detail on Mars. It is also very good for lunar observing and imaging.
All of the images that you find in my gallery have been taken using this scope unless otherwise stated.
focal length: 750mm
aperture: 150mm
focal ratio: f/5
A great scope to start out with, to this date I have still not changed it. I use it for both visual observing and imaging. Large enough to see some of the faintest deep sky objects yet small enough to easily be part of a portable set up. Although this scope leans slightly towards being optimized for deep sky observations it still gives great views of Jupiter and Saturn and has resolved subtle detail on Mars. It is also very good for lunar observing and imaging.
All of the images that you find in my gallery have been taken using this scope unless otherwise stated.
HEQ5 Pro SynTrek mount
Payload capacity: 13.7kg
Mount weight (including counter weights and tripod): 25Kg
This is an upgrade from my original EQ3-2 mount that came bundled with the telescope. It is considerably more stable and has the added advantage of motorized slewing and tracking. Out of the box this mount is not a "goto" mount. It has all the correct electronics and motors to be a goto mount but does not come with the goto hand controller. This can be purchased separately or comes with the HEQ5 SynScan. As an alternative to the SynScan handset you can also connect this mount to a laptop and control it via planetarium software which is what I do. Details on this can be found here
Payload capacity: 13.7kg
Mount weight (including counter weights and tripod): 25Kg
This is an upgrade from my original EQ3-2 mount that came bundled with the telescope. It is considerably more stable and has the added advantage of motorized slewing and tracking. Out of the box this mount is not a "goto" mount. It has all the correct electronics and motors to be a goto mount but does not come with the goto hand controller. This can be purchased separately or comes with the HEQ5 SynScan. As an alternative to the SynScan handset you can also connect this mount to a laptop and control it via planetarium software which is what I do. Details on this can be found here
Skywatcher ST80 refractor
focal length: 400mm
aperture: 80mm
focal ratio: f/5
This scope is primarily used as my guide scope. I connect a guide camera to it (see below) and using software on my laptop it effectively becomes the "eyes" of my mount watching for tiny variations in star movement and then moving the mount to compensate. This greatly increases tracking accuracy. It does also provide some great views of the moon and may in time become part of a "grab and go" setup.
focal length: 400mm
aperture: 80mm
focal ratio: f/5
This scope is primarily used as my guide scope. I connect a guide camera to it (see below) and using software on my laptop it effectively becomes the "eyes" of my mount watching for tiny variations in star movement and then moving the mount to compensate. This greatly increases tracking accuracy. It does also provide some great views of the moon and may in time become part of a "grab and go" setup.
Canon 450D DSLR camera
This camera is now mainly used for wide field work and star trails but can still be used for deep sky work when attached to my telescope, most of the images in my gallery were captured using this camera
This camera is now mainly used for wide field work and star trails but can still be used for deep sky work when attached to my telescope, most of the images in my gallery were captured using this camera
Moddified Canon 1100D DSLR camera
The latest addition to my kit. This camera has had the infra red filter removed to make it more sensitive to hyrdogen alpha light (around 4x more sensitive). This is particularly good for imaging certain emission nebula. This camera will now be my primary DSO imaging camera and any images you see taken after Jan '15 will be done with this
The latest addition to my kit. This camera has had the infra red filter removed to make it more sensitive to hyrdogen alpha light (around 4x more sensitive). This is particularly good for imaging certain emission nebula. This camera will now be my primary DSO imaging camera and any images you see taken after Jan '15 will be done with this
Philips SPC900 NC webcam
This little "off the shelf" PC webcam is a very popular choice for lunar and planetary imagers as a cheaper alternative to purpose built astro CCD cameras I bought mine for around £35 (although they are now harder to come by so more expensive) but they produce some excellent results. All of my planetary and most of my Lunar work was done using this camera. When purchased you also buy a nose piece and an infra-red (IR) cut filter. Pop the webcams lens out and screw the nose piece in place, this allows it to slide into the telescopes focusing tube. Removing the webcams lens also removes the IR filter which is why you need one that screws on to the nose piece.
This little "off the shelf" PC webcam is a very popular choice for lunar and planetary imagers as a cheaper alternative to purpose built astro CCD cameras I bought mine for around £35 (although they are now harder to come by so more expensive) but they produce some excellent results. All of my planetary and most of my Lunar work was done using this camera. When purchased you also buy a nose piece and an infra-red (IR) cut filter. Pop the webcams lens out and screw the nose piece in place, this allows it to slide into the telescopes focusing tube. Removing the webcams lens also removes the IR filter which is why you need one that screws on to the nose piece.
QHY5 mono guide camera
This is the camera I use in my ST80 as a guide camera. it plugs into my laptop and mount and is responsible for providing me with very precise tracking (when set up correctly!!) It does also double as a very good mono (black and white) Lunar and planetary camera.
This is the camera I use in my ST80 as a guide camera. it plugs into my laptop and mount and is responsible for providing me with very precise tracking (when set up correctly!!) It does also double as a very good mono (black and white) Lunar and planetary camera.
Here is my full set up. All connected and ready to go
