Astrophotography Equipment List
This article was last updated on January 24, 2015.
If you are looking to build a deep-sky astrophotography kit that includes a proven apochromatic refractor telescope and a reliable tracking telescope mount, the following information should be very useful to you.
For an idea of what you can expect with a rig like this, look at the image of the Lion Nebula below. This is a great example of the types of images you can produce with astrophotography equipment like this.
The Lion Nebula in Cepheus. Captured using the equipment listed below.
When it comes to giving advice about astrophotography equipment, I think it’s best to show real results in the form of photography performance rather than an over-analyzed specification sheet. It’s simple, really; if I can get results from a system like this, so can you.
This is a proven setup for capturing incredible deep-sky images of nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters from the city. It involves a dedicated astronomy camera and a light pollution filter to help collect the most meaningful wavelengths of light in the night sky for astrophotography.
While there are many ways to go about astrophotography (and equipment configurations), this example kit should be a useful starting point. Here is a photo of my astrophotography setup in my backyard after a night of imaging.
My deep-sky astrophotography equipment.
Complete Gear Details:
This setup features an extremely popular astrophotography telescope, the William Optics RedCat 51. The entire kit revolves around this mighty little Petzval apochromatic refractor, with a camera that compliments its 250mm focal length.
When pairing an astronomy camera with an astronomical telescope, keep ‘image scale’ in mind. This is a simple calculation (pixel size ÷ focal length x 206) used to make sure that stars will appear round and that your images are well sampled. Aim for a value between 1.0-2.0 arcseconds per pixel)
- Telescope Mount: ZWO AM3
- Telescope: William Optics RedCat 51
- Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
- Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme
- Camera Control and Automation: ZWO ASIAIR Plus
This kit uses a duo-sensor camera setup (ASI2600MC Air). If you use a traditional astronomy camera, you will need to use an additional guide camera and guide scope (or off-axis guider) for autoguiding. You will also need software to control the camera and telescope, such as a laptop computer running N.I.N.A or a WiFi controller like the ASIAIR.
An example of a similar astrophotography configuration with a larger refractor telescope.
Dew Control
Power Supply
Camera Control PC and Software
- Imaging Laptop: Acer Enduro N3
- WiFi Camera Control: ASIAIR
Pre-Processing
Each and every one of my images goes through a stacking and calibration process. The are many different image-stacking software choices available, and choosing the right one for you largely comes down to personal taste.
While I use DeepSkyStacker most often, the WBPP (weighted batch pre-processing) script in PixInsight also does a great job.
Post-Processing
To create my final image, the stacked master image goes through several processing steps to achieve the look I am going for. For an overview of this process, you can read my Photoshop Image Processing Tutorial or check out my premium image processing guide.
The final image includes 4 hours and 36 minutes of total integrated exposure time (69 frames). The inclusion of dark frames and flat frames during the pre-processing stages were critical for creating an image with a healthy signal-to-noise ratio. For a more broad look at the equipment I use for deep sky astrophotography, have a look at the “my equipment” page.