Backyard of the Week – April 3, 2018

As we enter the month of April, we have a new backyard of the week.  This time, we’re featuring an amateur astrophotographer who successfully captures wonderful deep sky images of space from the comfort of his balcony in the Czech Republic.

This astrophotography setup includes the very same equatorial mount I started with back in 2012, the Celestron Advanced Series CG-5 GoTo Mount. As you’ll soon see in Jan’s astrophotos, a reliable tracking mount like the CG-5 is an essential step towards deep sky astrophotography through a telescope.

Bresser Messier AR102/600

Location: Brno, Czech Republic

Jan Veleba

Jan uses two cameras to collect data, a modified Canon 600D DSLR, and a ZWO ASI178MC. It’s impressive to see that Jan captures images of galaxies, nebulae and more from both his balcony and at his cottage. There are two telescopes mounted to the CG5 here, a Bresser Messier AR 102/600 refractor, and a Celestron Nexstar 127. Have a look at his impressive collection of photos on Instagram:

astrophotography on Instagram

Jan also started a blog in January of this year, which I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing. This is a great way to document progress, share your images, and help others to learn the astrophotography process. A blog can be a great motivation to keep going, especially when you receive a healthy dose of comments and feedback about your images.

Valeba Astrophoto

The Pleiades

The Pleiades by Jan Veleba

Jan’s Astrophotography Gear:

Bresser Messier AR102 Refractor

Bresser Messier AR 102/600 Refractor Telescope

Description from Jan:

This is my balcony setup. Celestron Nexstar 127 with modified Canon 600D, Bresser Messier AR 102/600 with ZWO ASI178MC all mounted on Celestron CG5 Advanced GT.

Thank you for sharing your setup with us, Jan!

For a chance to be featured as the Backyard of the Week, please fill out this form and include the details of your setup. This is a great way for beginners to see a deep-sky imaging setup that is being used to successfully photograph the night sky.

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