Posted inAstronomy Telescope Mods & Repair

Nexstar SE Camera Platform

I recently picked up a used Nexstar 6/8 SE mount and tripod. The idea is using it not only as a grab-and-go for my 72mm f/6 Orion EON, (and hopefully a 5 or 6″ SCT OTA down the line), but also in the hopes of using it for some lightweight wide-field long-exposure and time-lapse astrophotography.

I wanted to side-by-side mount a DSLR camera and wide-angle lens combo alongside my unused Celestron 9×50 finder scope from my CPC800 and use an Orion StarShoot autoguider attached to the finder to guide the whole contraption for long exposure photos. That this setup can run on batteries, and is lightweight enough to chuck in the back of the car for camping trips, made this an interesting camera platform despite the Nexstar’s well known astrophotography limitations.

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Posted inAstronomy Astrophotography

Mountains on the Moon

https://flic.kr/p/5MwNHW


When the light is right, the edge of the moon can be very rewarding for imaging, or observing at higer magnifications. Taken with a Philips Toucam Pro webcam (lens removed), a Toucam to 1.25″ adapter, and a 2.5x Meade barlow. The telescope was a Celestron C9.25 with a JMI NGF-s focuser, carried on a Losmandy GM-8. The C9.25/NGF/GM8 combo was amazing for planetary/lunar imaging, especially under the still Florida skies I was living in at the time.

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Posted inAstronomy Astrophotography

Mars

https://flic.kr/p/5MsxEK


Mars at close approach is amazing and you can really pick up a lot of detail. Taken with a Philips Toucam Pro webcam (lens removed), a Toucam to 1.25″ adapter, and a 2.5x Meade barlow. The telescope was a Celestron C9.25 with a JMI NGF-s focuser, carried on a Losmandy GM-8. The C9.25/NGF/GM8 combo was amazing for planetary imaging, especially under the still Florida skies I was living in at the time.

Best 200 of 2000 @ 10 FPS

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Posted inAstronomy Astrophotography

Jupiter

https://flic.kr/p/5MwNGy

My best Jupiter to date, and probably my best planetary [intergalactic] image so far. Taken with a Philips Toucam Pro webcam (lens removed), a Toucam to 1.25″ adapter, and a 2.5x Meade barlow. The telescope was a Celestron C9.25 with a JMI NGF-s focuser, carried on a Losmandy GM-8. The C9.25/NGF/GM8 combo was amazing for planetary imaging, especially under the still Florida skies I was living in at the time.

Best 200 of 2500 @ 10 FPS

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Posted inAstronomy Astrophotography

Saturn

https://flic.kr/p/6ZBRFy


My best Saturn to date, and my favorite planet in the solar system. Taken with a Philips Toucam Pro webcam (lens removed), a Toucam to 1.25″ adapter, and a 2.5x Meade barlow. The telescope was a Celestron C9.25 with a JMI NGF-s focuser, carried on a Losmandy GM-8. The C9.25/NGF/GM8 combo was amazing for planetary imaging, especially under the still Florida skies I was living in at the time.

Best 200 of 2000 frames @ 10 FPS

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