Astronomy/Astrophotography

[4KidsOneCamera]

I decided to start a separate thread for all things astronomy and astrophotography related! Excited to see where this thread goes in the future, but for now I’ll start out small and explain my setup.

My main visual scope is the Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ which is an alright scope. It gets a bad rep, and while it isn’t the greatest thing out there, it still provides some nice views. My main photography setup just got a big upgrade today! Previously I had been using the Canon 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III kit lens. It worked pretty good and it got the job done, but it definitely had it’s major flaws (the big ones being chromatic aberration, and triangular shaped stars). Today however, that all changes. My setup from here on out is now the Astro-Tech AT60ED. It is a small wide field refractor which will make it great for photography. I have yet to test it out on some stars, but first impressions are really good. Very solid build, and a good scope overall.

I am however still waiting on a few parts to arrive before I can fully take advantage of what this scope has to offer, those parts being the .8x field flattener, and 48mm T-ring. I should hopefully get those delivered soon though. My temporary solution is to use a 42mm T-ring, and T-adaptor and put that into the 1.25in slot in the back of the scope. It’s not a sure fire solution, but it’ll get the job done for now.

As for the mount of my setup, I am still using and loving the Sky-Watcher Star Adventure 2i. It is a great little mount that does really well with what I am doing. I am currently waiting for a shutter release cable off of Amazon which will allow me to control both the camera and mount from my phone. This is also great as it allows me to dither which is something I’ve been doing manually since I got the mount. I’d say that having the mount dither without having a guiding setup is one of the more game changing things that has happened since I started.

As far as camera equipment goes, I am using the Canon T5i. It’s been great so far, and I plan on modding it sometime in the near future to get the most out of it.

That’s all for now! Many images to come in the future, and I’ll leave you with this image of the setup:

 

[BANDWITH]

I decided to start a separate thread for all things astronomy and astrophotography related! Excited to see where this thread goes in the future, but for now I’ll start out small and explain my setup.

My main visual scope is the Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ which is an alright scope. It gets a bad rep, and while it isn’t the greatest thing out there, it still provides some nice views. My main photography setup just got a big upgrade today! Previously I had been using the Canon 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III kit lens. It worked pretty good and it got the job done, but it definitely had it’s major flaws (the big ones being chromatic aberration, and triangular shaped stars). Today however, that all changes. My setup from here on out is now the Astro-Tech AT60ED. It is a small wide field refractor which will make it great for photography. I have yet to test it out on some stars, but first impressions are really good. Very solid build, and a good scope overall.

I am however still waiting on a few parts to arrive before I can fully take advantage of what this scope has to offer, those parts being the .8x field flattener, and 48mm T-ring. I should hopefully get those delivered soon though. My temporary solution is to use a 42mm T-ring, and T-adaptor and put that into the 1.25in slot in the back of the scope. It’s not a sure fire solution, but it’ll get the job done for now.

As for the mount of my setup, I am still using and loving the Sky-Watcher Star Adventure 2i. It is a great little mount that does really well with what I am doing. I am currently waiting for a shutter release cable off of Amazon which will allow me to control both the camera and mount from my phone. This is also great as it allows me to dither which is something I’ve been doing manually since I got the mount. I’d say that having the mount dither without having a guiding setup is one of the more game changing things that has happened since I started.

As far as camera equipment goes, I am using the Canon T5i. It’s been great so far, and I plan on modding it sometime in the near future to get the most out of it.

That’s all for now! Many images to come in the future, and I’ll leave you with this image of the setup: View attachment 52023

A camera, that’s cool!
I can say for certain that it is hard as hell to hook up an iPad to a telescope, let alone get good picture quality.

I think I’ll share my setup, too.

From the side (from which I assume is not lying) this tells me that it’s a Celestron Omni AZ 102. I’m not sure what the box is called, but it’s got a big eyepiece, a small eyepiece, and a barrow lens. (The weird stubby eyepiece came with the telescope is basically useless so I use it as a cap) There’s also a red, blue, and moon filter (whatever that means) and a cleaning cloth.

It has to be disassembled and wrapped in a blanket to be transported, but its been on quite a few adventures so far.

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

A camera, that’s cool!
I can say for certain that it is hard as hell to hook up an iPad to a telescope, let alone get good picture quality.

I think I’ll share my setup, too.
View attachment 52024 From the side (from which I assume is not lying) this tells me that it’s a Celestron Omni AZ 102. I’m not sure what the box is called, but it’s got a big eyepiece, a small eyepiece, and a barrow lens. (The weird stubby eyepiece came with the telescope is basically useless so I use it as a cap) There’s also a red, blue, and moon filter (whatever that means) and a cleaning cloth.

It has to be disassembled and wrapped in a blanket to be transported, but its been on quite a few adventures so far.

Looks like a great visual setup you got there, and a fancy case too! I can definitely confirm that trying to take photos with a phone or definitely an iPad is challenging, so props to you for it.

 

[BANDWITH]

Looks like a great visual setup you got there, and a fancy case too!

Thanks! I didn’t do any research before getting this stuff, but I guess it turned out well.

I can definitely confirm that trying to take photos with a phone or definitely an iPad is challenging, so props to you for it.

Yeah. Takes a lot of tape. And frustration.

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

I’m pretty much the opposite when it comes to new gear. I feel like I tend to over research everything before I buy it, which I guess isn’t really a bad thing.

Takes a lot of tape. And frustration.

Tape??? I thought using an actual cellphone holder was hard. I can’t even imagine doing it with tape. You should look into one of the phone holder things, they are kinda finicky but definitely better than tape. Not sure if you can find one for an iPad though.

 

[BANDWITH]

I’m pretty much the opposite when it comes to new gear. I feel like I tend to over research everything before I buy it, which I guess isn’t really a bad thing.
Tape??? I thought using an actual cellphone holder was hard. I can’t even imagine doing it with tape. You should look into one of the phone holder things, they are kinda finicky but definitely better than tape. Not sure if you can find one for an iPad though.

I did have one, but I lost it along with the weird circle rack the telescope was supposed to have. It also didn’t work with phones that have cameras in the middle, which is what my old phone had.

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

I did have one, but I lost it along with the weird circle rack the telescope was supposed to have. It also didn’t work with phones that have cameras in the middle, which is what my old phone had.

Ah, well tape it is then!

 

[James Brown]

I want to have an astromical telescope too…… Where can I buy and how much is it?

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

I want to have an astromical telescope too…… Where can I buy and how much is it?

So all in total for the scope I got, it is around $500 for it and the things needed for it. You could get them used for about $300, but it’s basically impossible as they sell out instantly. I got mine from an American vendor called Astronomics here: Astro-Tech AT60ED 60mm f/6 FPL-53ED and Lanthanum Doublet | Astronomics.com

If you want a telescope for astrophotography then this is one of the ways to go, but if you want one that is great for visual I would recommend something like a 6” or 8” dobsonian. They provide the best views for your money, but don’t do too well for photography.

 

[James Brown]

$500……USD!?

 

[James Brown]

It'll be expensive for me!

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

$500……USD!?

Yes. It’s not cheap that’s for sure, but there are other great options if you want to get a telescope that don’t cost this much. I know that basically all scopes are made in China, but I’m not sure what your market looks like over there. You may be able to get some good deals.

I would look up a Table Top Dobsonian. They are pretty cheap, and make great visual scopes. Again, I don’t know what scopes you have available over there, but something akin to the Heritage 130P which is a table top dob for about $200.

 

[BANDWITH]

It'll be expensive for me!

It’s almost the after Christmas season. Shits gonna be hella cheap.
I was going to recommend the telescope I have, but the website was for whatever reason not showing the price. I think it was somewhere around $250 USD.

 

[James Brown]

It’s almost the after Christmas season. Shits gonna be hella cheap.
I was going to recommend the telescope I have, but the website was for whatever reason not showing the price. I think it was somewhere around $250 USD.

Can it see Jupiter's Galilean moons or Saturn's ring? It is the lowest requirement of my telescope

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

Can it see Jupiter's Galilean moons or Saturn's ring? It is the lowest requirement of my telescope

Pretty much any scope will be able to see both of those things! I have a cheap pair of binoculars which can do it.

 

[BANDWITH]

Can it see Jupiter's Galilean moons or Saturn's ring? It is the lowest requirement of my telescope

Yeah, it can see both, but they’re real small. If you’ve got a good camera it shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

Here is a first go at the moon. The first one is just a regular one, and the second one shows the mineral composition of the surface. The colors you see are different minerals and such.

 

[James Brown]

Can I share astronomy knowledge here?

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

Can I share astronomy knowledge here?

Sure thing. Go for it!

 

[James Brown]

Sure thing. Go for it!

Nice!

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

The weather did not want me to get an image tonight, but I managed to do it. I started off imaging Andromeda, but due to the almost full moon I decided to switch things up for something more suited with the current conditions. As those of you who saw my last post in the old thread may remember, the Double Cluster in Perseus was the last image shot with my kit lens, so what better way to test the new gear than by shooting it again!

First impressions of the scope are amazing, and the image quality is incredible compared to my old lens. The star colors are really nice, and the whole thing really feels like a step up in the right direction. Now as I mentioned earlier, I am still waiting for some of the parts needed to make this scope perform to its full potential, but even without them I could still pull of a decent image that is greater than before. I can definitely see why a field flattener is a must, as I had some pretty significant star elongation near the edges of the frame which I cropped out, but that should hopefully be resolved soon. Can’t wait to really start using this to its full potential. Andromeda, Pleiades and Orion images will likely come once the moon isn’t so bright and in the way.

The first image is using the camera lens, and the second one using the telescope. Both have the exact same exposure time of 49 minutes, so the only difference is the optics itself. You can see a ton more stars in the second image as well, and I believe that is in large part due to the ability to get a more accurate focus.

 

[James Brown]

I like your star photos

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

I like your star photos

Thanks!

 

[4KidsOneCamera]

Here is my second image of The Orion Nebula, and second deep space image using the new scope! Definitely one of my favorite images to date. Had some weird artifacts on the preprocessed image, but none of that is too apparent in the final thing. Can’t imagine how much room for improvement there still is, as this image was taken during a full moon with the moon being right near Orion. To get this much out of it blew me away, and I can’t wait till a moonless night to try again. First is the full image, and second is a starless version:

Also, if one of the mods (Gecko Gekkota) could move this thread to the Non SFS Art section then that would be great. Didn’t notice I put it in the wrong sub-forum accidentally.

 

[James Brown]

Here is my second image of The Orion Nebula, and second deep space image using the new scope! Definitely one of my favorite images to date. Had some weird artifacts on the preprocessed image, but none of that is too apparent in the final thing. Can’t imagine how much room for improvement there still is, as this image was taken during a full moon with the moon being right near Orion. To get this much out of it blew me away, and I can’t wait till a moonless night to try again. First is the full image, and second is a starless version: View attachment 52218 View attachment 52219

Also, if one of the mods (Gecko Gekkota) could move this thread to the Non SFS Art section then that would be great. Didn’t notice I put it in the wrong sub-forum accidentally.

I like it