The Amateur Astronomy thread

konfab said:
The general rule with astrophotography is that your images are more limited by your mount than your optics. Nothing quite beats exposure time with astrophotography.

I would highly suggest pricing in a good equatorial mount before going for the optics.
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I landed up getting this second hand Skywatcher 100ED with EQ mount (not entirely sure on the model). But now I'm trying to find a compatible T-Ring set locally for my Nikon. But no idea where to look or the places I've asked no stock, Andries is rude and useless. So I gave up on him.

C7392C45-4C77-448F-847C-D6B3C336A7C6.jpg
 
semaphore said:
I landed up getting this second hand Skywatcher 100ED with EQ mount (not entirely sure on the model). But now I'm trying to find a compatible T-Ring set locally for my Nikon. But no idea where to look or the places I've asked no stock, Andries is rude and useless. So I gave up on him.

View attachment 1471123
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Very nice telescope you have there!


I got mine here:

Amazon.com : Celestron 93402 T-Ring for Nikon Camera Attachment : Celestron Adapter : Camera & Photo

Amazon.com : Celestron 93402 T-Ring for Nikon Camera Attachment : Celestron Adapter : Camera & Photo
www.amazon.com
(Shipping I see is as expensive as the T-ring itself, which is irritating. I happened to be in the US a couple of years ago when I took the opportunity.)
I also got one of these at the same time:

I *might* be persuaded to part with the above, as I'm looking at selling my scope (and my wife is in the process of selling the Nikon in favour of a Sony mirrorless anyway, so it's not that useful for me anymore.)
 
newby_investor said:
Very nice telescope you have there!


I got mine here:

Amazon.com : Celestron 93402 T-Ring for Nikon Camera Attachment : Celestron Adapter : Camera & Photo

Amazon.com : Celestron 93402 T-Ring for Nikon Camera Attachment : Celestron Adapter : Camera & Photo
www.amazon.com
(Shipping I see is as expensive as the T-ring itself, which is irritating. I happened to be in the US a couple of years ago when I took the opportunity.)
I also got one of these at the same time:

I *might* be persuaded to part with the above, as I'm looking at selling my scope (and my wife is in the process of selling the Nikon in favour of a Sony mirrorless anyway, so it's not that useful for me anymore.)
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Will those particular parts work on my telescope ?
 
semaphore said:
Will those particular parts work on my telescope ?
Click to expand...
It depends on the focuser.

There are two main kinds, 1.25" which is on most cheaper telescopes, and 2" which is typically for wider-field eyepieces and seen on pricier telescopes.

They were purchased for use with my Starblast 4.5 which has a 1.25" focuser. That part worked, but it didn't overcome the general limitations of the starblast which make it not a great scope for astrophotography. Yours will be miles better.

I can't confidently make out from the picture which kind of focuser you've got. It looks like it's probably 2", but you do get adapters.

The T-ring will be the same regardless. I'll get the other bit out a bit later this evening and see if it would work in a 2" focuser.
 
newby_investor said:
It depends on the focuser.

There are two main kinds, 1.25" which is on most cheaper telescopes, and 2" which is typically for wider-field eyepieces and seen on pricier telescopes.

They were purchased for use with my Starblast 4.5 which has a 1.25" focuser. That part worked, but it didn't overcome the general limitations of the starblast which make it not a great scope for astrophotography. Yours will be miles better.

I can't confidently make out from the picture which kind of focuser you've got. It looks like it's probably 2", but you do get adapters.

The T-ring will be the same regardless. I'll get the other bit out a bit later this evening and see if it would work in a 2" focuser.
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Great thanks :)
 
So the top part of the adapter is 2" wide, the little set screws can come entirely out, and it looks as though it would fit into a 2" focuser:

1675780386752.png



For reference, the T-ring fits into the camera like this:
1675780410199.png


And then the adapter screws onto the T-ring like this:

1675780430407.png


And then you stick it in your telescope where an eyepiece would normally go.
 
The thought occurs to me to mention, when all is said and done, that you'll get more bang for your buck by going to a dark site than by upgrading your telescope.

So practically what that means, you can get better viewing with a relatively entry-level telescope (or even just binoculars or your eyes), going to a properly dark place, than by staying in the city and spending lots of bucks on a big fancy telescope.

My StarBlast 4.5 in the Karoo probably will let me see more than an 8" dobsonian in the middle of a light-polluted city.

And I say that as someone who loves gadgets just as much as the next man. It's just something for the okes to bear in mind who are in the mood to acquire things.
 
Any recommendations on scope for spotting sea life etc.
Budget is 2k to 3.5k
Something other than binocs.
 
Hi everyone, new (to posting, have read LOTS from this site) to this group. Am an armature astronomer, have a Meade ETX-60 scope that I bought 20+ years ago!! I have a niece coming to visit this festive season and would love to show her (to be honest. to see for myself) our closest star!!!!
I would love to show her what the sun looks like (and look at it myself). Are there solar filters available for my scope or should I just build one? Where do I get the solar film from (I'm in Cape Town). Should I just go to the ASSA? I'm "fairly" handy and have watched a few Youtube videos on how to make your own solar filter.
Would love some input

Regards,
Ron
 
Sporge said:
Hi everyone, new (to posting, have read LOTS from this site) to this group. Am an armature astronomer, have a Meade ETX-60 scope that I bought 20+ years ago!! I have a niece coming to visit this festive season and would love to show her (to be honest. to see for myself) our closest star!!!!
I would love to show her what the sun looks like (and look at it myself). Are there solar filters available for my scope or should I just build one? Where do I get the solar film from (I'm in Cape Town). Should I just go to the ASSA? I'm "fairly" handy and have watched a few Youtube videos on how to make your own solar filter.
Would love some input

Regards,
Ron
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You could probably buy the film off Amazon to make a filter.

But please make sure you do your research.
 
Harmonic said:
@surface how's the hobby going? I'm itching to join in but have some other things on the go at the moment sadly
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Going nowhere, man. :-( Thanks for reminding though. :cool: I actually need to buy that 90 degree adapter to view it. Forgot what it called.

There are other things on the go but I have been lazy on this front. One can always make up 2 hours per week if one really wants to.
 
surface said:
Going nowhere, man. :-( Thanks for reminding though. :cool: I actually need to buy that 90 degree adapter to view it. Forgot what it called.

There are other things on the go but I have been lazy on this front. One can always make up 2 hours per week if one really wants to.
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I specifically want to get into the AP side of things but damn - it's sooooo expensive
 
konfab said:
Depends where you start.

They have some really fantastic entry level mounts nowadays:
Sky Watcher Star Adventurer GTI

That plus any old DSLR and a normal lens get you started in a really nice place.
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Well let's put it this way. I added everything I want to cart on first light optics and it came to 7000 pounds :crying:

I'm more interested in getting a proper mono camera with filters and that's where the problem just escalates
 
Harmonic said:
Well let's put it this way. I added everything I want to cart on first light optics and it came to 7000 pounds :crying:

I'm more interested in getting a proper mono camera with filters and that's where the problem just escalates
Click to expand...

Don't write off a OSC camera by any means...

urbanastrophotography.com

OSC vs Mono from a city - Urban Astrophotography

So you’re an astrophotographer in a city and are looking to get a new camera to image deep sky objectsContinue readingOSC vs Mono from a city
urbanastrophotography.com urbanastrophotography.com
 
Harmonic said:
Well let's put it this way. I added everything I want to cart on first light optics and it came to 7000 pounds :crying:

I'm more interested in getting a proper mono camera with filters and that's where the problem just escalates
Click to expand...
Yikes. We spent that much on swimming pool and it took us 5 years to budget it so AP seems quite hectic.
 
So, dobsonian (10, skywatcher) stays unused. I don't have that 90 degree mount/adapter so now looking for it now as son showed some interest in it. Any recommendations where to get it ? Googling for now.
 
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