Astronomy equipment for long term

Hey,

I get involved into astronomy this year and i keep reading everywhere so i can do good in this field, sounds photography is not in my radar anymore, earth photography became either boring or so much headache trying to find access or places/location and people, drive is very nightmare for me, so i just decided i move to the sky photography.

If you want to get further in astronomy doing AP of DSO and say planets too and sometimes you want planetary visual, how do you do it as equipment?

What will you get? what are important things to do? if you live in say a red/white zone then how can you deal with it if driving to dark skies isn't an option?

I got a mount, a camera, and a small cheap scope that is actually a guiding scope more than a scope, achromatic one, so i don't know what other scopes to get for AP and for visual [not asking for one to do everything, but one scope for AP which i am only thinking about APO triplet and visual scope which is a Cass one].

Filters are already decided too, so this will be done later and it is out of the question.

If you start at it and have just average budget say about $3000-5000 only for everything or say to get most thing and other things later, how you do it?

Tareq wrote in post #18412663
Hey,

I get involved into astronomy this year and i keep reading everywhere so i can do good in this field, sounds photography is not in my radar anymore, earth photography became either boring or so much headache trying to find access or places/location and people, drive is very nightmare for me, so i just decided i move to the sky photography.

If you want to get further in astronomy doing AP of DSO and say planets too and sometimes you want planetary visual, how do you do it as equipment?

What will you get? what are important things to do? if you live in say a red/white zone then how can you deal with it if driving to dark skies isn't an option?

I got a mount, a camera, and a small cheap scope that is actually a guiding scope more than a scope, achromatic one, so i don't know what other scopes to get for AP and for visual [not asking for one to do everything, but one scope for AP which i am only thinking about APO triplet and visual scope which is a Cass one].

Filters are already decided too, so this will be done later and it is out of the question.

If you start at it and have just average budget say about $3000-5000 only for everything or say to get most thing and other things later, how you do it?

Heya,

#1 is the mount. Most of your budget goes into the mount. It needs to be big and sturdy and have access to parts or maintenance too, so that may be something to consider. You said you already have a mount, so it would help to list which one you have and we can go from there. It will determine the main limits you will have with what scopes and what scales you can image at. You can do this for about $800 USD with the bottom barrel options. But really you should start in the $1500 range as a minimum in my opinion if you want to do planets, as well as DSO. Orion Atlas | EQ6 (same thing) is where I'd start. And if budget allows, go for even more. It's also very handy to consider one that can be remote controlled from a computer, so you can avoid the handset and do it from inside through a monitor (for long term).

#2 planets and DSO require two separate scopes and are two different methods and often require two separate cameras. This makes it hard to get into both with ideal equipment. It can be done with one scope and one camera, but you will have a hard time doing both really well. You already have a camera, so it would be good to know what you have. Ideally, for long term, you want a monochrome sensor camera and filter sets for color and narrowband imaging. A ZWO ASI1600MM would be my selection in this budget range and a basic RGB filter set for planets, and narrowband filter set for DSO (because of the lack of dark skies where you want to image from, narrowband lets you get through that nicely). I think you may already have this or its equivalent from other makes, but it would be good to know what you have. Narrowband filters would be high quality ones, also costly, but for long term its worth it, such as Astrodon HA, S2 and O3. The tighter the bandpass, the better the filter, and the more expensive. You can go a little loose on HA (5nm) but I would go as tight as you can on O3 and S2 (3nm). Planets are captured with high speed video (no guiding needed really, good alignment needed). DSO is captured with long exposure (using guiding; especially in narrowband where your exposures will be even longer to get enough signal, so you need a very good mount and very good alignment and very good guiding). Some planets give up different features in different filtered wavelengths (such as IR and UV); Venus is a good example. So again, monochrome is the way to go here. Also, you may get into solar at some point as its an every day all day thing, and a monochrome sensor is ideal there too.

++ At your budget, I wouldn't go for an APO triplet. You're going to spend most of your budget on that. You need to select a scope based on what targets you want to frame up, which means you need to know your sensor size. The FOV is going to determine what you can capture in a single frame without having to do panoramas. Get a small sensor and a big long scope and you'll only image small DSO. DSO are actually huge and take up more degrees than even the moon, and definitely more than planets. DSO needs a small, fast scope that has a wide FOV and a fairly good sized sensor (M43's is great, APS-C is great; smaller gets harder to deal with for target size limits). Look at 400mm~600mm scopes for DSO, with focal reducer options, around F6~F7. A doublet APO is fine! You'd be hard pressed to really see a huge difference. And if you're imaging in narrowband, you will be really hard pressed to see any difference because you're capturing a single wavelength (this can be done on an achromat!). You need a great focuser on this scope, to hold weight (of you camera, wheel, etc), such as moonlight/feather touch (linear bearing ideally) with locks; long term consider something that allows motorized remote control focus. A cheap little 50mm achromat guidescope is totally fine. But that's another camera for guiding (ideally monochrome too), such as an ASI120MM (cheap and works). I would look to something like an AstroTech AT80EDT (really tons of scope for the cost for DSO purposes and for visual) or other alternatives that are basically 80mm F6~F7 APOs (doublets are fine).

++ For planets, look to an SCT. I would target a Celestron C8 or equivalent as a starting point, used, as they are common and very cheap. But if you can manage, look to a C9.25 or C11 or similar sized Meade around 10~11 inches. Just watch the weight. If you really want to get into planets, start with one of those. If you're more interested in DSO, and planets are just dabbling, get the C8 (cheap, easier to use, great for everything). Used C8's go for $450 USD often!

Build a pier and a shed/cover. Having your setup always ready to use and permanently aligned is such a pleasure! No setup time. And plan to run electric and ethernet so you can control it from a room in your home if you can. I would push for this over getting fancier scopes! The setup you image often with is the best setup because its comfortable to use and you don't have to do the labor of setup every time, alignment every time, etc. It really makes a huge difference!

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #18417240
Heya,

#1 is the mount. Most of your budget goes into the mount. It needs to be big and sturdy and have access to parts or maintenance too, so that may be something to consider. You said you already have a mount, so it would help to list which one you have and we can go from there. It will determine the main limits you will have with what scopes and what scales you can image at. You can do this for about $800 USD with the bottom barrel options. But really you should start in the $1500 range as a minimum in my opinion if you want to do planets, as well as DSO. Orion Atlas | EQ6 (same thing) is where I'd start. And if budget allows, go for even more. It's also very handy to consider one that can be remote controlled from a computer, so you can avoid the handset and do it from inside through a monitor (for long term).

#2 planets and DSO require two separate scopes and are two different methods and often require two separate cameras. This makes it hard to get into both with ideal equipment. It can be done with one scope and one camera, but you will have a hard time doing both really well. You already have a camera, so it would be good to know what you have. Ideally, for long term, you want a monochrome sensor camera and filter sets for color and narrowband imaging. A ZWO ASI1600MM would be my selection in this budget range and a basic RGB filter set for planets, and narrowband filter set for DSO (because of the lack of dark skies where you want to image from, narrowband lets you get through that nicely). I think you may already have this or its equivalent from other makes, but it would be good to know what you have. Narrowband filters would be high quality ones, also costly, but for long term its worth it, such as Astrodon HA, S2 and O3. The tighter the bandpass, the better the filter, and the more expensive. You can go a little loose on HA (5nm) but I would go as tight as you can on O3 and S2 (3nm). Planets are captured with high speed video (no guiding needed really, good alignment needed). DSO is captured with long exposure (using guiding; especially in narrowband where your exposures will be even longer to get enough signal, so you need a very good mount and very good alignment and very good guiding). Some planets give up different features in different filtered wavelengths (such as IR and UV); Venus is a good example. So again, monochrome is the way to go here. Also, you may get into solar at some point as its an every day all day thing, and a monochrome sensor is ideal there too.

++ At your budget, I wouldn't go for an APO triplet. You're going to spend most of your budget on that. You need to select a scope based on what targets you want to frame up, which means you need to know your sensor size. The FOV is going to determine what you can capture in a single frame without having to do panoramas. Get a small sensor and a big long scope and you'll only image small DSO. DSO are actually huge and take up more degrees than even the moon, and definitely more than planets. DSO needs a small, fast scope that has a wide FOV and a fairly good sized sensor (M43's is great, APS-C is great; smaller gets harder to deal with for target size limits). Look at 400mm~600mm scopes for DSO, with focal reducer options, around F6~F7. A doublet APO is fine! You'd be hard pressed to really see a huge difference. And if you're imaging in narrowband, you will be really hard pressed to see any difference because you're capturing a single wavelength (this can be done on an achromat!). You need a great focuser on this scope, to hold weight (of you camera, wheel, etc), such as moonlight/feather touch (linear bearing ideally) with locks; long term consider something that allows motorized remote control focus. A cheap little 50mm achromat guidescope is totally fine. But that's another camera for guiding (ideally monochrome too), such as an ASI120MM (cheap and works). I would look to something like an AstroTech AT80EDT (really tons of scope for the cost for DSO purposes and for visual) or other alternatives that are basically 80mm F6~F7 APOs (doublets are fine).

++ For planets, look to an SCT. I would target a Celestron C8 or equivalent as a starting point, used, as they are common and very cheap. But if you can manage, look to a C9.25 or C11 or similar sized Meade around 10~11 inches. Just watch the weight. If you really want to get into planets, start with one of those. If you're more interested in DSO, and planets are just dabbling, get the C8 (cheap, easier to use, great for everything). Used C8's go for $450 USD often!

Build a pier and a shed/cover. Having your setup always ready to use and permanently aligned is such a pleasure! No setup time. And plan to run electric and ethernet so you can control it from a room in your home if you can. I would push for this over getting fancier scopes! The setup you image often with is the best setup because its comfortable to use and you don't have to do the labor of setup every time, alignment every time, etc. It really makes a huge difference!

Very best,

Hey Martin,

Thank you very much for your post, it took long time until someone did reply here, and you gave a detailed post so far, that is nice and i appreciate it.

So, let's go into each point you wrote, and i hope i can't forget anything, and you can help me [or guide me hahaha] for better decision for next items if possible.


#1, the mount, yes, i know the is the most important item here, and i got enough recomendations or suggestions and options about it, so i end up with one, not the best in the market or not the top high end, but it can do the job just fine, i saw so many astro images done by less than that mount.

I got SkyWatcher AZ-EQ6, it is same as the Orion Atlas Pro AZ-EQ6 one but mine is white, i know they are both manufactured under same maker [Syntha i think], i was started to look at something in CGEM or AVX then slowly went to EQ5 of different versions then EQ6 too with different models started with EQ6 normal then NEQ6 EQ6 Pro, then EQ6-R, but to my luck i saw AZ-EQ6 at the last moment, didn't know if that is good or not, but i saw they rated it at 55 lbs as the top option of all EQ6 out there, and being a dual motor it is a big plus or bonus for me, so i can use one for DSO imaging and the other [AZ/Alt] for visual.


#2, scopes, this is the second part i keep looking at and not sure what, i bought SW ST80 as starter, just for practice and to play with a scope to understand about the mechanism and about accessories such as eyepieces and diagonals and focuser and whatever, and sounds ST80 is a nice scope for what it is designed [guiding, and can do imaging], but i see like 99% using APO scopes refractors for DSO or reflector instead, i am thinking to give my Canon lenses a test first, not sure how good are those Canon lenses compared to say APO Triplet/Doublet scopes, and most of my lenses are old models, are they better than my Achromatic scope at least?

I was thinking about a Mak for planetary visual, i tested or looked though C9.25 scope that is in a local astronomy group building, the view was amazing, but they used i think a wide field eyepiece, and then i just decided i want something bigger magnification for that more than C9.25, SCT are expensive, so Mak was the only option, and in my mind i am thinking about that 180mm 7" Mak that has 2700mm focal length, i don't look at aperture or focal ratio, and many agreed about this Mak, but still some trying with me to g with SCT if possible or a Dob better option, in between this or that i got lost, Mak and Dob are the cheapest options, and i don't want anything less than C9.25, i know C8 is nice too, but i know inside myself or mind that i will ask for more immediately, so that C9.25 was minimum reference, and i can't go with C11 because it is too much expensive for me right now, unless i wait long and save more then i can afford that C11, i also looked at Meade 10" option, sounds nice and little more than a Mak but still not very expensive scope, but it has less focal length than that Mak i want, so i don't know which one to follow, i prefer to buy once, and i feel i won't give it a big attention as daily use, but i definitely want a bigger magnification if possible, and i know you may talk about seeing quality condition too, to me i really don't care, i saw through that C9.25 with only 26mm eyepiece once and with 2X Barlow added to that EP again and the view was brilliant, i doubt if i get something bigger will affect it, because someone just said getting 8" or 11" or even 14-16" won't change because the maximum i can get is about 250-300X, really funny if that is true, then 11-16" or bigger are all a waste then, so the viewing quality is fine and nice in my area, light pollution doesn't have big impact on planets and very bright objects anyway.


#3, camera, sure i have DSLRs and Sony mirrorless, but i also read in astrophotography that the best recommendation is a mono astro camera, the cooled one, and i did see that ASI1600mm is very popular camera out there, but honestly speaking i made a different choice, i went with QHY163M instead, it is almost same as ASI1600 in everything, but it has built in heater or anti-dew window, only newest version of ASI1600mm have that from what i read, also 163m have 128mb buffer, not sure what is that for, but anything bonus i welcome it, so the quality of images is same as ASI1600mm so i am happy in that and i am not left behind of ASI1600mm shooters, and one thing is the color, black/blue is way nicer for me than red.

I said i decided on the filters already, and i didn't find something better than Astrodon itself, i know it is very expensive, and i really have very bad financial situation now, but i don't want to rush and get another makers and then i buy Astrodon, it will be like twice purcahse and i doubt i can sell my previous non Astrodon filter if i need, so i better just keep my plan on Astrodon and buy it once and never look back, and i know what to buy, all recommended me to start with Ha, and i definitely will think about 5nm over 3nm for a reason, but for O3 and S2 i will go with 3nm, i can buy Baader 7nm or Astronomik 6nm or even Optolong 7nm one and i will have good results, but you know that i always try to get the highest quality, i couldn't get that with the mount maybe or with the scope, then at least i can go with highest quality of filters, at the end the total price will be still less than most expensive mount or most expensive scopes such as Takahashi, so no need to tell me about filters, it is already decided and i will wait to afford one by one, but the only question i can ask here is, i am thinking to get Ha first then LRGB as next, O3 and S2 can wait as i see they are less used than HaLRGB, what do you think?

Things i have to think about is the software, because that is all where i need to spend time too, i may leave my mount scope camera taking subs exposures for hours and hours through days or weeks, but at the end i need to stack and process them, and i think i know which software, but i don't know how to process them at the moment, i still watch videos, but i have to focus on one software, i only think about PixInsight but i don't have it now, it is in my list no doubt, they told me it is the best one to get, DSS is fine but i feel i lack things, PI is like Photoshop in photography, so i will get it then no doubt.

I still have problem about to understand the polar alignment and guiding, that is why i bought PoleMaster but it didn't show here yet since nearly 4 weeks, i feel i can't use my mount without it, i hate to go the other methods, the polar scope in mount is a headache, i didn't test it at all but i really don't want at all, drift alignment i really don't know how, do i need special tools or it is only by software? i do have ASI120MC, a color version with USB2.0, i am not sure if i can use this for now as guiding camera, in the future i will gt another camera, most likely QHY5L-II, but until that time i have this camera, QHY163M is an imaging camera, so i hope i can understand how to guide and how to PA first.

... to be continued>>>

Someone helped me to go thought EQMOD so i can control my mount from computer, but until now it is still wired connection, i bought a Bluetooth adapter but sounds i didn't know how to setup it first and not sure if it is compatible or possible to connect to my mount, i really want to try to control my mount via wireless any kind or remote control as you said, that will make life easier for me for sure, if i know how to do that then it will open doors for me to shoot more or more comfortable.

Solar imaging is nice, i forgot about it, but i should think about it more than anyone else because we have that sun everyday and very very hot too, and it is big enough to us because we are locates on the Tropic of Cancer, and for the inclination of the earth we got it perpendicular once every year and it is very hot, so i will add it to my imaging plan for sure, but i want to go with filter option rather than buying Lunt scopes, and i can't be sure how safe to use the filters than a special dedicated scope, it will cost me again also for another scope so i try to ignore the sun.

Building a permanent pier wasn't in my mind until some members keep talking about it between themselves and showing pics, i can't build one or i don't know which location point in my house i can build that, and to have a shed also an extra efforts and money, so i also passed this idea, maybe if i buy another smaller cheaper mount such as EQ5 or AVX then i can think about it, but not with my EQ6, or maybe i put that EQ6 on that pier and use the other mount for portability, for now it is not in my mind until i start astrophotography first and see what i face then i can decide on pier or not, and i have to photograph the sky and see which parts is visible to y mount from anywhere i stand, it is pointless to build that permanent pier on a point hat i can see only part narrow view of the sky.

Another thing i have to think about is the eyepieces i should buy for visual scope, i have 3 now for my ST80, but this scope isn't great for far small objects, it is great enough for the moon and some stars, but once i get that reflector scope then i have to start thinking about EPs, i saw many getting a lot of them same as we get a lot of lenses for our cameras, and i don't know why, but i will try to limit my choices, i won't put that visual as my main big purpose, so it won't force me to go under so many eyepieces.

The thing with all those equipment or gear is to find a storage, i am thinking about hard cases more, for now i don't have any case for any of my tools i currently have, even that QHY163M i don't have a case for it, i was surprise because i saw a video on YT someone bought this camera coming with a hard case, maybe that is a special order or the site he ordered from did have it as an option, so i have to think about cases for my mount and scopes and cameras and EPs and any accessories, this is not gonna be easy for me with all spending i have to do, i quit photography for a while due to spending, didn't imagine that i will do again with astronomy, and i hope all those spending won't be useless, once i get good DSO images then i will fly from happiness, and i will return for photography later once i do fine into astrophotography, not in rush, and i have the whole year because the sky is there, the objects are moving around in the year, so i can always do it during the night if condition is fine, and the sun in the day, it won't affect my terrestrial photography anyway, but because i just started so i want to have all my time now for astronomy until i am doing fine in it.


So tell me anything i need to think about or do that will help me in this long journey, many told me it will take very long time maybe years to do it or understand it, but i don't want to feel disappointed because they know what they are doing and i am not, if they spent years then i feel i should give up, English isn't my language and following instructions sometimes isn't easy for me, not in my original/mother language, but with all reading and watching and starting with not cheap equipment i try to shorten the time or jump a bit forward big steps, and i can easily upload my images on the forums so others can play with it and showing me if i am doing fine or have to do something, they like to share astro images too, so this will be a good help for me, i am trying to practice on others images when i can, NASA have them too in their site, but i want to do things by myself to feel the maximum joy, same when shooting with film, shooting then developing processing things.

Tareq wrote in post #18417386
Hey Martin,

Thank you very much for your post, it took long time until someone did reply here, and you gave a detailed post so far, that is nice and i appreciate it.

So, let's go into each point you wrote, and i hope i can't forget anything, and you can help me [or guide me hahaha] for better decision for next items if possible.

#1, the mount, yes, i know the is the most important item here, and i got enough recomendations or suggestions and options about it, so i end up with one, not the best in the market or not the top high end, but it can do the job just fine, i saw so many astro images done by less than that mount.

I got SkyWatcher AZ-EQ6, it is same as the Orion Atlas Pro AZ-EQ6 one but mine is white, i know they are both manufactured under same maker [Syntha i think], i was started to look at something in CGEM or AVX then slowly went to EQ5 of different versions then EQ6 too with different models started with EQ6 normal then NEQ6 EQ6 Pro, then EQ6-R, but to my luck i saw AZ-EQ6 at the last moment, didn't know if that is good or not, but i saw they rated it at 55 lbs as the top option of all EQ6 out there, and being a dual motor it is a big plus or bonus for me, so i can use one for DSO imaging and the other [AZ/Alt] for visual.

The EQ6 is an excellent start; as you know its the Atlas. It's weight class is true, so it will hold 40lbs, but for really tight imaging, you will not want to load it more than 20~25lbs for DSO. For planet, you can get away with using 30lb~40lb because it will not need to be perfectly tight and a little drift is allowable because you're doing video for planets. For DSO you need it to be rock solid, so again, stick to 20~25lb as a top weight for DSO on that mount and you will be good, lighter is even better. Also the EQ6 allows for EQMOD (a cable to replace your handset to be controlled via a laptop/computer, super handy, talks with Stellarium so you can guide to things and set slew rate, etc, via software instead of using the cumbersome handset outside). Just look into it, it's a great long term thing.

Polar aligning the EQ6 is easy; don't use the build in polar scope. Instead, use a very short guidescope, like a 50mm with a large sensor camera on it and run SharpCap software; it lets you do a polar alignment sequence and is very easy to use, accurate, and much better than using the flimsy reticle/polar scope built into the mount. I use SharpCap for my alignments and I get 10 minute zero drift accuracy. You'll need this kind of tight alignment for good DSO.

More on this at the end of the post (I have a tutorial).

The ST80 is a good widefield visual scope and a good guidescope. I have one too and I use it for visual, but I image sometimes in narrowband with it.

The thing to remember is if you're in narrowband, having a color corrected scope doesn't matter (ie, APO). The glass of a good achromat is good. The only real difference with an APO doublet & triplet is the level of color correction. But if you're imaging in a single wavelength of light (narrowband) this doesn't matter, a lot of people image with achromats in narrowband because you can get a bigger scope for less cost. That said, I do still recommend a good APO doublet for general imaging and viewing. I would go for an 80mm aperture at first. Even a simple 80mm F7.5 APO is great (cheap!) like the Orion ED80 or SkyWatcher equivalent. They're the "everyone's APO" because they're cheap, very good, common, and you can get a focal reducer for it (making it 480mm F6).

APO refractors are basically in the same class as your Canon lenses (most camera lenses). They are color corrected to an extent too (that's the only reason you don't have wild CA happening. You can image with your camera lenses no problem. Stop down maybe 2/3rd to 1 stop of focal-ratio to tighten things up. It's fine to practice with these for really wide field.

I would keep your ST80 for visual purposes. You can image with it, but the CA is very strong. Most DSO's don't have CA though, so you can totally use this to practice on big DSO's while you wait to get an APO. Your stars will have CA and bloat, but you can at least learn with it and get good images of DSO to learn to process and stuff as you figure things out. It can also be a guidescope later, but it's heavy for a guidescope and not needed, but you can use it if you want for that.

I would get a small 50mm guidescope for imaging/guiding. Lighter weight, less surface area to catch wind, and easier to keep warm (you must combat dew formation).

Heaters are an important thing to talk about. You have to have heat or dew management for your scopes (the imaging scope & the guidescope). All your scopes need this. You have to warm up the element/object exposed to ambient to be warmer than ambient or dew will form. I use basic heat strips hooked to electricity and I cook them. I'm in Florida so mine have to be hot because ambient temps are in the 60's and 70's at night in the summer, so my scopes have to run hot. Doesn't effect anything for imaging. I don't use any fancy heat controllers or temp gauges. I just go full bore heat and cook it. Its' fine (cheap too). But this is 100% needed to image all night, otherwise, dew will shut you down. Dew is your #2 enemy. Clouds are your #1 enemy.

I image with a simple APO doublet, an ED80 (cheap scope, these are commonly $350~400 used, $550 new roughly). You can find equivalents in SkyWatcher and others. It's a basic oldschool Synta design. But it's a good "everyone APO" and cheap. I use a 0.80x focal reducer on it (also cheap) to make it a 480mm F6 APO imaging scope. I use a very inexpensive 50mm achromatic guidescope on it with a helical focuser ($100?) by Astromania (generic, GSO makes it too, everyone has a version). I put a small USB camera on it for guiding. I image DSO in color with an APS-C dSLR. The reason is I live in dark skies with very little light pollution so I can get away with color and short integration (I only need 2 hours on most subjects because of dark skies). I replaced the focuser on my scope with a linear bearing dual speed focuser so it will be more rigid and not slop. My mount is a simple EQ5, the little brother to what you have. My setup is very entry and small. But I use it a lot because it's easy to use, short, light weight, fast, and it's permanently setup on my concrete pier.

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Aperture is everything when it comes to planets. Resolution is directly correlated with aperture size, not focal length. Focal length doesn't matter. Aperture does. Terrestrial camera language often uses aperture in place of the focal-ratio, but in astro, aperture is used correctly and is referring to the diameter of the opening into the telescope. It basically is the bucket size that light can fall into. If you want to resolve a planet, especially the finer details on the surface, you need aperture. A 7 inch scope is an ok aperture for starting with planets, you will at least see the bands on Jupiter and rings on Saturn. But at very small scale. If you really want to see detail and have imaging detail, you will want something bigger aperture. This is why I immediately suggested looking at 8 inch to 11 inch because your mount can take it. Again, focal length doesn't matter here, you can magnify things, but the limit will be aperture & seeing. You can control aperture by getting the biggest aperture you can. You cannot control seeing. So do yourself a favor and get the biggest aperture you can, if you want to really see detail on planets. 7 inch Mak is just barely scratching the surface. It will work. But, I guarantee you that if you start at 7 inches, you will be buying a bigger scope within a few months after you figure out imaging. The 7" Mak is a good starter planet scope. But again, if you can manage an 8 inch or bigger, do it. Aperture rules all for planets. The Meade 10 inch is worth looking into if you can afford it. Again, don't get hung up on focal length--you can change that (a 2 x powermate for example will double your focal length, and you will need one anyways!), you need aperture, not focal length. If you can get a 10 inch meade, get it, that is way way way better for planets than the 7 inch Mak. Just add a 2x powermate to it and you're set. Far superior, really, really far superior.

It's not a waste to get a bigger aperture. Your limitations on magnification mostly come from quality of seeing. After that, having a big aperture is the only way to get higher resolution to see detail. You can magnify all day, but if your limit on resolution is small due to a smaller aperture, higher magnification won't matter, but if your aperture is big, and you get some decent seeing quality, you can get higher magnifications that are useful.

So if you want higher magnification, get a bigger aperture. I can't stress this enough.

Big aperture = higher resolution which directly influences what can be resolved at high magnification if seeing quality is good enough.

Get a big aperture, go for that 10 inch if you can, and a 2x powermate.

If none of that is an option, and the only option you have is the 7 inch Mak, it will get you started. But I can't stress enough, if you need to save up for a bigger aperture, do so. This is only if you really care to do imaging and visual of planets a lot. If planets are not primary interest to you, then you're fine with a smaller aperture for just taking a look. If you really love planets, I promise you, you will want big aperture after a few months when you realize the limits aperture poses on you for detail.

The QHY163M is perfect, as you know its the same as the ASI1600M just from another manufacturer. This is ideal. You use it for DSO and planets. For DSO you use the full surface/resolution with narrowband filters (or LRGB if you have to wait to get narrowband). For planets you use region of interest (ROI) which limits what surface on the chip is used, in order to crank up the FPS. You want to capture at the highest FPS you can for planets. A planet will not fill the sensor. So you waste a lot of pixels and so we crop them away with region of interest and focus on only the pixels the planet occupies. This camera allows you to do both very well due to that.

You can also use your dSLR, but it will require a lot more integration time due to your light pollution to get anything useful out of a redzone. Even in dark skies, some objects are super feint and need 6+ hours of exposure before you have enough signal to noise ratio to actually pull it out. Narrowband lets you do this through light pollution, but you still need lots of integration time. Be prepared for 4~6 hour sessions minimum. It's very common to acquire data over several nights just on one object to get 10+ hours of data collected. This is the challenge of DSO.

You will curse the weather. You think terrestrial imaging causes headache with weather, location, etc. A simple cloud will ruin your day! It's just part of the deal.

Yes, starting with HA just to image in narrowband at first is great. This allows you to learn how to do it all and get something from it. This allows you to image through light pollution in a red zone. Later, you can add S2 & O3 as you can. You can get by with inexpensive LRGB filters. The ones that matter for quality will be narrowband S2 and O3. It's ok to do 5nm or 7nm HA. But you want 3nm on S2 & O3.

And important note is that to image in HA you have to make sure your subject matter is emitting or reflecting HA light! Not all DSO's do this. So make sure you check which DSO you're wanting to image, and make sure it has HA, or you can image all night and get nothing because there's no HA. This is true of many galaxies for example, and some nebula. You want to focus on nebula mostly that have HA emission. So this means doing a little research and selecting appropriate targets to image so that you don't waste your time. HA is the most common light out there because hydrogen is the most common element and all the stars are burning this stuff. But, again, not every DSO has a lot of HA involved in the actual DSO, so just make sure and research your subjects. Imaging in just HA means black & white in reality, but that's fine! It still looks really good and gives you a lot of data to process.

PixInsight has a massive learning curve. It's good software. You will need to watch a lot of videos to learn to use it.

I use basic stuff. I use DeepSkyStacker for my stacks. I process in Photoshop. Here's the tutorial that tought my the most on how to understand how to process DSO in photoshop using curves, levels and masks. You can download & save the video. I still use it to reference when I process to this day.

http://www.astronomers​doitinthedark.com/dslr​_llrgb_tutorial.php

Polemaster does exactly what SharpCap on your guidescope will do; but SharpCap is free. Polemaster is good, though, but again, you don't need it you already have a guidescope and you can run software to do alignment. It's the same thing. They both just use plate solving. You don't need to drift align. You have the ability to plate solve with the Polemaster, that's how it works. Or you can use sharpcap and your guidescope and do the same thing. You can use your 120MC for a guide camera, that's totally fine, mono is better (more sensitive) but that doesn't mean you won't be able to use it, it will work fine too.

Here's my tutorial on using a basic 50mm guidescope, any USB camera (yours is fine!), and SharpCap software to polar align with plate solving (text & picture tutorial):

https://www.cloudynigh​ts.com …nt-experiences/?p=7624471

Very best,

Hi again, and thanks again for your answers.

Ok, so the mount is fine, and i do have SharpCap and FireCapture, i just didn't know that i can do Polar Alignment with it, i ordered the PoleMaster anyway, so whether i have the finder or not or camera this tools is made for PA anyway, i already paid for it, but if it didn't show within 1 more 1 week then i will send a complain to the store online i ordered from so they can refund me, and i may think about something else for that amount of money, maybe one NB filter, but now you telling me about the ability to PA and P.solving by SharpCap this will make me to spend time now learning how to, i may not wait longer then for the PoleMaster and i can start right away, and the mount is sturdy enough, i have to test it out then i can judge how good the mount is.

And the camera part is also ok then, good you told me about what is called Region of Interest [ROI], i didn't know about it at all and i didn't read it anywhere before, you are the first one to tell me about, and thanks because i was giving up on my ASI120MC, it has kind of pixelation and also it is very cheap low end one so didn't want to have it as my long term planetary camera, i was looking for another options such as ASI290 or ASI178 [COLOR or mono], but now you saved my money, wish if i knew about SharpCap PA ability then i won't order that PoleMaster, also it is my mistake that i choose the cheapest shipping option, not sure how long it takes, but i didn't know it may take about 4 weeks or more 1 month maybe, the item left USA long time ago and it is still stuck in London from the tracking number, but i really don't know where it is now, London is almost 7 hours far by flight, didn't know it is about 2-3 weeks far.


Now the scope part is getting all the time thinking or confusing, first my ST80 is the only one i have, and with NB as you said it won't matter, then i shouldn't look at very expensive options, but why i see some members having one of those expensive APO triplet scope when they do narrowbanding then? it is like contradiction, is there something i don't know or you don't tell me? and the most sad thing is if someone getting Taka scope very expensive with CCD astro camera and doing narrowbanding, i don't know if there are another reason, and i am sure he has another scope for visual, so what will be the purpose going very expensive camera and NB filters then buying an APO Triplet or even Astograph Newt? something wrong there.

Regarding about the visual scope, good you told me about it then, so i won't waste money on something that i will change it later for sure as you said, worthless to buy twice, but i don't want to buy anything less than C9.25 anyway, Meade 10" is the cheapest option, C9.25 is also not much bad, C11 is a bit so expensive, the shipping is killing the price dramatically, i try to keep my total budget for it below $2k if possible including the shipping, then i won't rush and can wait or this scope to choose and come, wish i can try more scopes locally then i can decide.

I know about the weather condition, but we don't have clouds that crazy as yours, and the clouds aren't there for very long time or for many months, our most months that we can see the clouds more are between October until March, not everyday thought, and i really don't need to have the sky clear 365 days, let's say i will use about half of that, so 180 days at most, give that like 15 days every month for whole year, not every month i will spend 15 days for astronomy only, and i won't force myself to have so many days under the sky, if one month i can't make it more than 3-5 days then next month i will make it about 10 days, and if i can make my mount to be controlled remotely then i can just relax inside home and watch my mount from the window and control it from there and just go to the mount time to time for checking it up, it all depends on me how long i want to spend the night out, and if i get nice amazing results that will put me for longer time stargazing, who knows.

Thank you very much for the links and tutorials you gave me, that will be a nice good help too, i like when people helping each other or helping others who just staring out like me, sooner or later you will see the results once i make it right, and sure i will suffer too, nothing is free from suffering, and if the clouds is your first enemy there then our first enemies here are humidity/heat and light pollution, clouds are like 10-20% times per year for us here, so maybe i can get more DSO/planets images than you waiting months for the clouds to move away, hehehehe

Tareq wrote in post #18417540
Now the scope part is getting all the time thinking or confusing, first my ST80 is the only one i have, and with NB as you said it won't matter, then i shouldn't look at very expensive options, but why i see some members having one of those expensive APO triplet scope when they do narrowbanding then? it is like contradiction, is there something i don't know or you don't tell me? and the most sad thing is if someone getting Taka scope very expensive with CCD astro camera and doing narrowbanding, i don't know if there are another reason, and i am sure he has another scope for visual, so what will be the purpose going very expensive camera and NB filters then buying an APO Triplet or even Astograph Newt? something wrong there.

I image in ultranarrow band HA, at 656.28nm, and you cannot see any difference between my achromatic refractor and my APO refractor when imaging in narrowband.

The reason a lot of people get APO doublets & triplets even, even when doing narrowband, is because they're not 100% narrowband all the time. Sometimes its used for visual (where APO is great). Sometimes its used for imaging in color or something non-narrowband. That's where having the APO makes a difference. So if you want a flexible refractor for imaging, that can tackle everything in every way, the APO is it. If you know 100% for sure that you will never image in anything other than narrowband, then frankly, an APO won't make difference. But again, I don't know many who only image in narrowband ever. It's not that its a contradiction or a waste, it depends on long term use and flexibility and how specialized your system is. I just wanted to point out that starting out, if you're imaging in narrowband, you do not need to stress getting an expensive triplet APO. My point is to just focus on a short, fast APO doublet. They're inexpensive, and very good for imaging, so you can imaging in narrowband and image in full spectrum without any issues.

I bring up the point of achromatic refractors and narrowband for one reason: aperture. Look at the cost of an APO that is 5 inches or more aperture. They're super expensive. More than your total budget. I use a 5 inch achromatic refractor for my narrowband imaging because an APO of that aperture size is crazy expensive, and would literally add nothing since I image with it in narrowband. Remember, the only thing an APO is doing is correcting color (CA, etc). There are 6 inch (152mm) aperture short achromatic refractors (F5!) that are commonly used for DSO (mostly visual), but some image with them in narrowband (because again the CA won't matter as it won't show up in narrowband). That scope as an achromat is only $750 new, but as an APO it would be over $8,000! This is why I bring it up.

So again, to summarize, for your purposes, get an APO doublet. It's universally the most flexible thing to start with for everything you could possible do with it.

If, for any reason, you find yourself wanting a bigger aperture refractor and you find yourself only ever imaging in narrowband, this is where an achromatic refractor comes into play.

Most folk who do DSO with large aperture (the point is to resolve tiny DSO's, such as super far away galaxies mostly) use reflectors or SCT's with hyperstar. But they're also doing it in full spectrum, not narrowband. If you were doing small DSO's in narrowband, this is where an achromatic refractor can come into play. It's not common. But for those of us that do narrowband, it's common for us. The problem is, these scopes are huge and when doing DSO, long exposure, they act as wind sails and will vibrate and shake. You have to have a much sturdier mount (this is where $5k+ mounts like the Titan, Mach1, etc come into play). For your EQ6, keep it small for DSO. You'll have way more success that way.

I totally understand. The C9.25 and the Mead 10" are what I would recommend for a total long-term purchase. That said, these scopes are dramatically cheaper on the used market. The problem is shipping. But that said, it's not uncommon to find a C9.25 that is used on the used forums market (like CloudyNights) for around $700. Then you just add shipping (which would be a lot, but, it may still be a ton cheaper than buying new and shipping on your side of the world). The Mead 10" often goes even cheaper on used market! Again, shipping would be very expensive, but overall you'd save probably over $800~1000 going used. Alternatively, look for a local C8 used for cheap.

Thank you very much for the links and tutorials you gave me, that will be a nice good help too, i like when people helping each other or helping others who just staring out like me, sooner or later you will see the results once i make it right, and sure i will suffer too, nothing is free from suffering, and if the clouds is your first enemy there then our first enemies here are humidity/heat and light pollution, clouds are like 10-20% times per year for us here, so maybe i can get more DSO/planets images than you waiting months for the clouds to move away, hehehehe

Yea, Florida in the summer is awful for weather. It's rained every day for months now. I haven't even bothered to use my scope(s) in weeks. This is prime time for summer DSO too, which is too bad. The big ones are out (Eagle, Lagoon, Trifid, etc) in the core of the galaxy this time of year in my hemisphere, but the weather has been so poor I have not made an attempt this year. Even my terrestrial photography has taken a hit due to weather. Just really bad wet summer this year.

I look forward to seeing your progress.

I highly recommend you come over to CloudyNights.com . It's a forum dedicated to this. POTN is great, but the astro section is a tomb. CloudyNights forum is booming constantly with astro folk. Most of us are on both!

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #18417561
I image in ultranarrow band HA, at 656.28nm, and you cannot see any difference between my achromatic refractor and my APO refractor when imaging in narrowband.

The reason a lot of people get APO doublets & triplets even, even when doing narrowband, is because they're not 100% narrowband all the time. Sometimes its used for visual (where APO is great). Sometimes its used for imaging in color or something non-narrowband. That's where having the APO makes a difference. So if you want a flexible refractor for imaging, that can tackle everything in every way, the APO is it. If you know 100% for sure that you will never image in anything other than narrowband, then frankly, an APO won't make difference. But again, I don't know many who only image in narrowband ever. It's not that its a contradiction or a waste, it depends on long term use and flexibility and how specialized your system is. I just wanted to point out that starting out, if you're imaging in narrowband, you do not need to stress getting an expensive triplet APO. My point is to just focus on a short, fast APO doublet. They're inexpensive, and very good for imaging, so you can imaging in narrowband and image in full spectrum without any issues.

I bring up the point of achromatic refractors and narrowband for one reason: aperture. Look at the cost of an APO that is 5 inches or more aperture. They're super expensive. More than your total budget. I use a 5 inch achromatic refractor for my narrowband imaging because an APO of that aperture size is crazy expensive, and would literally add nothing since I image with it in narrowband. Remember, the only thing an APO is doing is correcting color (CA, etc). There are 6 inch (152mm) aperture short achromatic refractors (F5!) that are commonly used for DSO (mostly visual), but some image with them in narrowband (because again the CA won't matter as it won't show up in narrowband). That scope as an achromat is only $750 new, but as an APO it would be over $8,000! This is why I bring it up.

So again, to summarize, for your purposes, get an APO doublet. It's universally the most flexible thing to start with for everything you could possible do with it.

If, for any reason, you find yourself wanting a bigger aperture refractor and you find yourself only ever imaging in narrowband, this is where an achromatic refractor comes into play.

Most folk who do DSO with large aperture (the point is to resolve tiny DSO's, such as super far away galaxies mostly) use reflectors or SCT's with hyperstar. But they're also doing it in full spectrum, not narrowband. If you were doing small DSO's in narrowband, this is where an achromatic refractor can come into play. It's not common. But for those of us that do narrowband, it's common for us. The problem is, these scopes are huge and when doing DSO, long exposure, they act as wind sails and will vibrate and shake. You have to have a much sturdier mount (this is where $5k+ mounts like the Titan, Mach1, etc come into play). For your EQ6, keep it small for DSO. You'll have way more success that way.

I totally understand. The C9.25 and the Mead 10" are what I would recommend for a total long-term purchase. That said, these scopes are dramatically cheaper on the used market. The problem is shipping. But that said, it's not uncommon to find a C9.25 that is used on the used forums market (like CloudyNights) for around $700. Then you just add shipping (which would be a lot, but, it may still be a ton cheaper than buying new and shipping on your side of the world). The Mead 10" often goes even cheaper on used market! Again, shipping would be very expensive, but overall you'd save probably over $800~1000 going used. Alternatively, look for a local C8 used for cheap.

Yea, Florida in the summer is awful for weather. It's rained every day for months now. I haven't even bothered to use my scope(s) in weeks. This is prime time for summer DSO too, which is too bad. The big ones are out (Eagle, Lagoon, Trifid, etc) in the core of the galaxy this time of year in my hemisphere, but the weather has been so poor I have not made an attempt this year. Even my terrestrial photography has taken a hit due to weather. Just really bad wet summer this year.

I look forward to seeing your progress.

I highly recommend you come over to CloudyNights.com . It's a forum dedicated to this. POTN is great, but the astro section is a tomb. CloudyNights forum is booming constantly with astro folk. Most of us are on both!

Very best,

About APO triplet, don't worry, i kept my options as low, even for the expensive scopes they are still low budget, i have 3 or 4 choices i asked about before, they are all triplet, i can go with doublet, but you gave a great reason about why to use the triplet, and i know myself that i want to do everything between imaging and visual, and who knows i may not use narrowband sometimes, so better to have something for long run, in all cases even a doublet APO isn't very cheap, the least expensive or cheapest APO triplet i found is nearly $1000-1200, one of them have a flattener, so even with separate reducer/flattener i still can have it at about $1200-1600, Doublet mostly are around $500-800, that is almost half the price of triplet, so i pay double to have more high quality optics in the scope, most likely FPL-53 or FCD-100, and i wouldn't mind spending about $1500 just to be sure, at least i didn't spend $3000-10k.

Same with visual scope, i try to keep it under $2000, i always and only buy brand new, and i won't buy all scopes at once, so this visual scope can wait, or, i will try with my ST80 and NB, i also mentioned that i want to use Canon lenses, these can be good for astrophotography too, that may keep me away from any APO refractor for a while and just go with 8"-11" reflector scope, then later one day in the future i can think about APO refractor, but now if i will do DSO imaging, and i use ST80 as my imaging scope with QHY163M, how or what i use for guiding scope?


I am a member into 3 astronomy forums so far, CloudyNights is one of them, and i did get many help or answers there, and some my post where like too much for members there and they didn't like it, so i try to have different opinions and forums to see what things they will tell me, everyone has own preference and reason, so i value everyone reasons, and i will keep posting there about astronomy.

Heya,

I would avoid a reflector, they're deceptively cheap for a large aperture short one, but require a lot of gear to make work well for imaging (coma correction, etc). Also they are hard to image with due to balance and surface area. If you get a big reflector, get it for visual purposes. Don't get it as an imaging instrument at this point starting out. Just learn on your ST80 in narrowband or in full spectrum, and just figure things out as you go. If you do really want to get into a short reflector, look at the GSO or other rebrand 6 inch aperture ones that are F5 or F6, avoid the F4 ones right now. You can get away without coma correction at F5~F6 on a short 150mm reflector. They're inexpensive. Zero CA (they're not lenses). They are alternatives to refractors for DSO. Very good for visual too with 6 inches of aperture.

You can totally image with a camera lens instead of a telescope. If you have any decent primes, they're excellent for this and you can get adapters to use them with your QHY163M. It will help you figure out how to manage and deal with stacks, processing, etc, and you can do it in full spectrum or narrowband.

If you image with the ST80, just get yourself a small simple 50mm guidescope. They're typically inexpensive, 50mm is common, they mount onto the imaging scope with rings (see my images above of my setup, you can see how I mounted it and another finder scope). You align the guidescope to the imaging scope. Then you can align your total system (polar align) and you're set. I use a 50mm Astromania (same as GSO) guidescope with helical focuser. It comes to focus with all the ASI cameras like the one you have just fine. I focus it with PHD software and guide with the same software (free).

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #18417613
Heya,

I would avoid a reflector, they're deceptively cheap for a large aperture short one, but require a lot of gear to make work well for imaging (coma correction, etc). Also they are hard to image with due to balance and surface area. If you get a big reflector, get it for visual purposes. Don't get it as an imaging instrument at this point starting out. Just learn on your ST80 in narrowband or in full spectrum, and just figure things out as you go. If you do really want to get into a short reflector, look at the GSO or other rebrand 6 inch aperture ones that are F5 or F6, avoid the F4 ones right now. You can get away without coma correction at F5~F6 on a short 150mm reflector. They're inexpensive. Zero CA (they're not lenses). They are alternatives to refractors for DSO. Very good for visual too with 6 inches of aperture.

You can totally image with a camera lens instead of a telescope. If you have any decent primes, they're excellent for this and you can get adapters to use them with your QHY163M. It will help you figure out how to manage and deal with stacks, processing, etc, and you can do it in full spectrum or narrowband.

If you image with the ST80, just get yourself a small simple 50mm guidescope. They're typically inexpensive, 50mm is common, they mount onto the imaging scope with rings (see my images above of my setup, you can see how I mounted it and another finder scope). You align the guidescope to the imaging scope. Then you can align your total system (polar align) and you're set. I use a 50mm Astromania (same as GSO) guidescope with helical focuser. It comes to focus with all the ASI cameras like the one you have just fine. I focus it with PHD software and guide with the same software (free).

Very best,

Sorry, i mean a Cassegrain or Catadioptric, i don't know why i keep saying refelctor, it is just i know two types, refractor and reflector, and i put that Cass or Mak into refecltor anyway.

Here is a link for a 12" scope, what do you think about this?

http://www.highpointsc​ientific.com …-lx200-acf-ota-1210-60-01

It is very expensive scope for sure, but definitely not above $4000 or $8000, i can buy this one next year, not this year, 10" Meade is likely fine, but if i can squeeze more i may give bigger scope, but do you think this scope will be fine on my mount? as i said my mount is rated at 55 lb, say 50 lb at best, and this scope is 35 lb. I really feel 10" is the minimum i want to get, sure this Meade 10" is more than Celestron C9.25, but i don't how much more it is over C9.25, but with 12" this is really more, and because i just started then i can wait, some waiting years to get some big scopes i can buy this 12" next year if i wait and save, but it will be pointless if it can't be good enough as capacity on my mount, you let me know what do you think.

I have prime lenses to use, but most are old lenses and not sure if they are still holding quality, i do have Canon 300mm f2.8 IS mk1 and Canon 135mm f2L, i can even add Canon Macro 100mm 2.8 non IS, and about zoom i do have 70-200 mkII and 100-400 mk1, and i do have the adapter to use that camera with Canon lenses, it is compatible with ASI and QHY cameras.

From the site i bought QHY camera i saw they have a great option for guiding, a miniGuideScope with QHY5L-II-M as a combo, but this guidescope is only 30mm, i can easily go with that camera and 50mm guide scope instead if 50mm is a must, and the price won't be that much huge between the two, or i just save my money and just buy 50mm guide scope to use with my ASI120MC and forget about QHY5L, i just see many shooters using this camera as guiding camera.

I do have PHD[2], but as i said, i need to find a tool to be used as guiding beside the imaging tool, i am still collecting gear one by one slowly, so once i have enough then i can start immediately, in all cases the heat here is unbelievable and humidity is beyond imagination even at night, so i think i can really wait longer and stud more about my equipment and read more about the sky and see whatever i need to learn about, watching the polar alignment and guiding videos, and also watching the processing or reading what you sent, i don't want to be lack with equipment at any time or stage, if i use ST80 with my imaging camera then can't i use a good Canon lens to be as my guide scope? and you said 50mm, that is the aperture i think, so it means focal length could be around 150-180mm? because i saw 30mm = 130mm focal length.

As you see, because i am starting and i don't want to spend twice i keep looking for many options are cheap/medium level, i am trying to first learn about aligning and guiding, then i really need to know about balancing my mount too with any equipment i attach to it, once i done this right then other things can be done gradually, filters i may buy one soon if i have a budget, but i am going with big size filter unmounted which means i need a filter wheel, and that is another spending, talking about astrophotography is equal talk about $$$$$$, but it is funny to talk like that if i was spending too too much on photography itself in the past.

Thanks for all posts you made, sure it will help me in my astronomy.

Clear skies!

Forget about that above 12" scope link, i think i better go with 11" [C11], at least i save very little money, but i will see that time, i may be able to go with 12" anyway.

Heya,

I would not go with that 12 inch scope either. It's 35lbs. Add your other stuff and camera and you're at the limit of your mount. That's not a good place to be for accuracy and stability. While it will work, and it can be ok for planetary, it will be hard to use and very hard to focus critically. I would look in the 10~11 inch area. The 10 inch for its weight is a pretty good place to be on your mount and its significantly cheaper.

Your 300 F2.8L can serve as a total replacement instead of buying an APO refractor. No need to spend money. Just get a mounting plate, some rings, and you can dual-saddle mount a small guide scope next to this lens on a plate and you're set for large DSO. The 135L is also very good for widefield for constellations and groups of DSO's.

Keep your 120MC for guiding, its fine. You can get a 50mm guidescope for very little and be up and running. The larger aperture will allow for feinter stars to be used for guiding which is going to be needed in your red zone skies.

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #18417768
Heya,

I would not go with that 12 inch scope either. It's 35lbs. Add your other stuff and camera and you're at the limit of your mount. That's not a good place to be for accuracy and stability. While it will work, and it can be ok for planetary, it will be hard to use and very hard to focus critically. I would look in the 10~11 inch area. The 10 inch for its weight is a pretty good place to be on your mount and its significantly cheaper.

Your 300 F2.8L can serve as a total replacement instead of buying an APO refractor. No need to spend money. Just get a mounting plate, some rings, and you can dual-saddle mount a small guide scope next to this lens on a plate and you're set for large DSO. The 135L is also very good for widefield for constellations and groups of DSO's.

Keep your 120MC for guiding, its fine. You can get a 50mm guidescope for very little and be up and running. The larger aperture will allow for feinter stars to be used for guiding which is going to be needed in your red zone skies.

Very best,

Cool, thank you very much!

I hope to find or know which mounting plate and rings i need for me lenses for imaging, and i don't know about dual saddle thing, i will learn them sooner or later.