Key Takeaways The Askar SQA55 uses high-quality optics to produce astrophotography images that are sharp, flat, and well-corrected. It features an innovative design with a variable aperture, similar to a camera lens with a manual focus ring. The small aperture (55mm) and short focal length (264mm) mean it is unsuitable for planetary imaging or photographing…
The Sky-Watcher Wave 150i strain wave mount is the latest equatorial tracking telescope mount from a brand known for its reliable astrophotography mounts. For the first time in Sky-Watcher’s history, this mount doesn’t require a counterweight. Strain wave gear telescope mounts are designed to be compact, portable, and lightweight. In fact, the Sky-Watcher Wave 150i…
Updated September 26, 2024 A star tracker is a portable tracking camera mount designed for astrophotography. The device ‘tracks’ the motion of the stars to allow you to take long exposure images of space without star-trailing. These devices are commonly used with a DSLR/Mirrorless camera and lens, or even a small astronomical telescope. Recent models…
The Sky-Watcher EQ8-R is an observatory-grade astrophotography mount with a massive 110-pound maximum payload capacity. It comes in two versions, the EQ8-R (the one I have), and the advanced Sky-Watcher EQ8-Rh model with encoders. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to receive a very large package in the mail, the Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro….
The Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i is an extremely popular portable star tracker designed for astrophotography. It provides a simple way to track the motion of the stars, allowing you to take long-exposure images of the night sky. It uses AA batteries, making it ultra-portable and travel-friendly. It’s an excellent miniature equatorial tracking mount designed for smaller…
The Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro is a computerized equatorial telescope mount with GoTo capabilities. This equatorial (EQ) mount is capable of providing precise, accurate tracking of the night sky, and is suitable for long-exposure astrophotography. The core specifications of this equatorial mount include having a built-in ST-4 autoguider port, a payload capacity of 44 pounds, and…
Despite the excitement of a moving into a new house under Bortle Class 6 skies, I’ve had a rough start to the new year in terms of astrophotography. The weather has not been friendly, from -30 C nights to consecutive weeks of precipitation and clouds. However, this has given me some time to get my…
A mono astrophotography camera gives backyard imagers in the city the opportunity to collect dynamic LRGB, and narrowband images from home. Although LRGB image acquisition using a filter wheel requires some extra setup time early on, the flexibility of this configuration is appealing. Up to this point, I have not experienced the joys of shooting…
Right now is the absolute best time of the year for backyard astrophotography. The days are warm and the nights are clear, summer star gazing is here! The core of our Milky Way galaxy has returned to our night sky here in the Northern Hemisphere, and with it comes many celestial delights such as the…
While digging though some old folders on Adobe Bridge, I stumbled across some unprocessed, 300 second light frames of the Flaming Star Nebula from November 2013! When you are desperate to get out and image a new target, this is like hitting gold. I was originally looking for my raw files of the Pacman Nebula, which…
I am thrilled to announce the purchase of a brand new telescope for astrophotography, and one that I’ve had my eye on for some time. Those of you looking to dive into the hobby of deep-sky astrophotography for the first time should see my post a choosing a telescope for astrophotography. I break down my top…
The Wizard Nebula through my 80mm Telescope Clear August Nights More consecutive clear summer nights have allowed me to put in some serious time on the Wizard Nebula! In fact, this is the most amount of exposure time I have put into any object! Over 7 Hours! Truth be told, I would have hopped over…