During the night, if temperatures drop enough, water vapor in the air will condensate on cold surfaces. Well our equipment cools off. Getting some water on the outside of our telescopes does not really matter much. Having water condensate into water droplets onto mirrors or lenses is devastating though. It distorts images dramatically to the…
Astrophotography Add-ons
Must have add-ons Computer Guide-scopes Nice to have add-ons Bathinov Mask Dew Shields & Heaters Very Nice to have add-ons Barlows & Focal Reducers
Saturn
Image Details Image Taken: Seignosse, France, July 2020Telescope: Skymax 127Camera: ZWO ASI120MC-SFilters: none
Andromeda
How to get here Cassiopeia Popular Objects M31 – Andromeda Galaxy M33 – Triangulum Galaxy Moving on to
Variable Polarizing Filter
When I gaze up into the night sky, choosing the most beautiful object to watch or image is not easy: Planets, galaxies, different types of nebulae, we can even see a quasar, although it just looks like just a speck in space. But most of all, my eyes turn to the Moon, our Moon. It…
Venus
Probably my worst picture ever, under the worst circumstances, right next to some lamp posts in between buildings, but it still is my first planetary picture EVER. Venus somewhere in its phasing cycle … Image Details Image Taken: Watermaal-Bosvoorde, April 21, 2020Telescope: Skymax 127Camera: ZWO ASI120MC-SFilters: none
M31 – Andromeda Galaxy
Image Details Image Taken: Seignoss France, July 2020Telescope: Skywatcher Explorer 150/750 PDSCamera: ZWO ASI294MC PROFilters: noneExposure time: 2h35
Compass & Level
Yes indeed, these basic age-old tools are still essential for an astronomer today. Especially if you like myself have to build-up and break-down your setup for every night out. This is not applicable to all telescope though: Astronomers that opted to not use a tripod and stabalized a fix mounting point in their garden or…
Barlows & Focal Reducers
I addressed how barlows and focal reducers work in my post on focal length. Summarizing, they allow changing the otherwise fixed focal length of a telescope, which has an impact on magnification and or field of view. Why would you want one a barlow There are multiple reasons why you would want to have a…