Okay so this is going to be my first deep space set up, lots of people on here helped me narrow it down.

Askar FMA180 Pro Sextuplet APO Refractor

Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi Mount Kit

And then I already have the ASI67MC pro so that will be my camera.

In the future I will probably get the ASI mini PC as well as the auto focus.

If anyone has any suggestions that would be amazing thank you.

edit Is the SVBONY SV48P any good? It’s a bit more in my price range.

Hello everyone -

I’m turning 40 and taking a dream trip to the Atacama with my rig this March during the new moon phase. I’m planning on staying at a few places designed for astronomers/astrophotographers that will have power available, but I’m also renting an overlander and hoping to wild camp & shoot in the desert alone for a few nights.

I’m seeing mixed messages about the maximum sized battery bank I can bring - my mount needs an AC outlet so I’m looking at options like Omnicharge 20+ (maybe getting two of them as that seems to be ok w/the TSA). It’s 100W so it’s fine for travel, but I’m reading about how you can get permission from the airlines to get something up to 160W…has anyone ever done that?

Do you all have any thoughts/experiences/ideas? I’m also considering buying something bigger once I get there - I’ll be flying from Santiago to Calama where I’ll be renting the car; maybe there’s a place in Calama I can buy a bigger battery just for the trip? Though I don’t know if Calama is a big enough city to have something like that.

I appreciate you all reading, clear skies!

I am on IOS and I use a phone mount on my telescope, but planets seem like white dots and thats it, Jupiter and Saturn too. What apps can I use to make photos better?

I’m pretty new to Astro, why do some of my pictures have red and blue pixel looking things in them? I thought it was maybe stars but it seems like it’s not even in the sky. It was on the mountains in one of my images. Is it the long exposures? Because it’s so dark? I have no idea, please enlighten me!

I am looking at purchasing an equatorial mount for both planetary and DSO imaging/spectroscopy. I will be using different OTA's for each purpose. The two mounts I am looking at right now are the Celestron CGEMII (40 lbs payload capacity) and the Celestron CGX (55 lbs payload capacity). The OTA's that I am primarily considering weigh in at 27.5 and 29.25 lbs. Obviously the CGX should be better because of the higher payload, but I am trying to save cost where ever possible so...

First question: Counter weights

Does adding counterweights improve the payload capacity in any way, or are they just for stability and motor protection?

Second question: 50% payload limit

I've heard that the general rule of thumb is that your scope should not exceed 50% of your payload capacity. I am assuming this 50% includes the OTA and any additional equipment attached to the OTA. Where does this 50% come from? Is there a mathematical reason why 50% is the upper limit? Or is this more of a... less than 50% will always be acceptable but proceed higher at your own risk situation? If greater than 50% is sometimes acceptable, how can I find what the true limit for my mount will be?

Hi everyone, I’m having trouble with post-processing my astrophotos and need some advice. I’m following tutorials from A.V. Astronomy to learn the basics of Photoshop, especially stretching to bring out faint data. However, I’ve run into some issues.

The Problem • When I stretch my images, weird noise appears, mainly concentrated around the top-right corner. • I initially struggled with vignetting and black spots, so I started using flats for calibration. • I create flats using the white t-shirt method with my computer screen showing a white image at full brightness. My histogram peak is just before or near the middle, as recommended. • Despite this, the noise persists after stretching.

Possible Causes • I suspect my flats may be the issue, but I’ve also read that light pollution could be a factor. • I live in Bortle 7 skies, so light pollution is significant.

I’d appreciate any advice or tips to help figure out the root cause and improve my post-processing results!

TL;DR

Weird noise appears on my astronomy photos after stretching. Could it be bad flats or light pollution? Looking for advice!

I took some pretty good photos in of M42 last night. After stacking in DSS and then doing minimal processing in PixInsight, a bunch of red, green, and blue squiggles are showing up in the picture. I've included a link to the lightly processed (autostretched and AutomaticBackgroundExtractor) and circled a couple of the points I'm speaking about.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZJHTNHUKphVrnKD3ve7wCagTVqjY39V3/view?usp=sharing

What are these squiggles, what is causing them, and what can be done to mitigate these in the future? These have shown up on a couple of my photos recently.

I have an 80mm achromatic refractor, a Google Pixel 7 with DeepSkyCamera (better equipment is pretty expensive for now) and an Orion light pollution filter. A solid portion of light sources still use sodium, as opposed to LED. I also have a computerized AZ mount and the longest subs I can take are at around 17 seconds, ISO 12000 – I tried that as a test and it blows out everything, I think the highest I can go is around 17s@ISO6000 without overexposing the sky itself.

I had varying degrees of success with the Orion Nebula, the M15 cluster, the Pleiades, the Beehive Cluster and other open clusters as well as the Andromeda Galaxy.

I would like to attempt photographing the Triangulum Galaxy. Visually, the galaxy looks like a very very faint and tiny smudge – very low contrast. Can I get some acceptable results with my setup? Could someone post a raw shot of the galaxy under similar skies to give me an idea of what to expect?

Thank you in advance!

Hi guys, I'm in need of some lens advice. I recently got a hold of a Canon Eos RP with a 24-105 f4-7.1 lens and I'd really like to get started with landscape astrophotography. I'm looking at a 24mm lens with a fast aperture.

I'd like to start out doing single exposures without a star tracker. I'd like to get a feel for landscape astro, maybe try some stacking, but not going full out with a star tracker right from the start. Although I might upgrade to a star tracker in the future.

I'm currently looking at two lenses, the Canon RF 24mm F1.8 and a Sigma 24mm f1.4 DG HSM Art.

The Canon lens is €569 here in The Netherlands (€669 with a €100 cashback). I can only find this lens brand new, no used ones.

The Sigma is around €520 used (good/excellent condition) on MPB.com. I'd also need an EF to RF converter for this lens which is around €100. So the total is around € 620.

I've read some good things about the Sigma. Looking at different reviews I'm expecting some coma in the corners, but I think stopping down to f2.8 would reduce it quite a bit.

What would you guys recommend? Would you even recommend either of these lenses or should I go with something else entirely?

I'm looking at the best I can get for around € 600 total. I don't mind adapting EF lenses to my RP.

Thanks in advance!

So i do really like getting into astrophotography as hobby considering my academic focus in on astrophysics (still second year in uni) but i dont really know where to get started .

i do have an iphone 16 pro max and i know how iphone is just not for astrophotography but is there a way to not spend much and still have great results i dont really know if i need to get a budget telescope or lens and combine it with the phone will have decend results....

He has a few choice words about PixInsight also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-fMxthseH4

Hi all, I’ve been always a Windows user but as I need to replace my laptop (every time I run starxterminator I can cook steak on the keyboard hahaha) I started to think more to move to a Mac, so I wanted some advice, do you think buying this would be good?

MacBook Pro with M4 Pro

12‑core CPU 16‑core GPU 24 GB centraal geheugen 512 GB SSD-opslag¹ 16‑core Neural Engine 14‑inch Liquid Retina XDR-display²

Thanks a lot!

I've left shutter open, low aperture, high aperture...I get black...nothing. Was on a T5i now R6II...different lenses. I'm missing something. Tried in darker areas city. I just want cool ASTRO pics. I bought that pill app to show where and when moon and milkyway go by...please help?

I just recently bought a Celestron Nexstar Evolution 8HD and I have a Mirrorless Canon EOS R. What mount do I need to buy? I see different styles online. Celestron has a few on their website but I’m not sure what one I need. Any help would be great!

Ok I realize this might not be possible, but with my Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT with an ZWO ASI482MC camera and a 2x apertura Barlow. Is it possible. If it is possible, how long of an exposure would I need to capture it? If there are any other details please let me know

I am into planetary imaging, and I want to take the best pictures I can with my 6se. What else do I need to purchase along with my telescope, like what eyepiece and what astro camera is compatible, good, and under 100-200 dollars? I want to purchase them off of Amazon, I live in the USA, and I need exact products because I have no clue what cameras are compatible with what lenses if there is or isn't a joiner thing, etc.

I recently got Asiair mini to add to my setup, and I cannot get it to connect to my mount. I have a az-eq 6gt and I’m not sure which one it is from the list but I’m guessing it’s «skywatcher synscan» one. My two questions are: Where do I connect it on the mount? Is it through hand controller or auto guide? And if someone could explain to me the message I keep getting on the app?

https://imgur.com/a/9np3A38

I am thinkon ong upgrading from a telephoto photography lens (no autoguiding )to Askar 71F Flat-Field Quadruplet (490mm) with autoguiding.

The setup i am using now is a sony a6400 with a tamron 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD and i can get good 30s unguided exposure (the built in intervalometer only goes up to 30s) at 500mm on an APS-S sensor and it weighs 2.2kg / 4.9 lbs.

New setup: Sony a6400, Askar 71F, zwo mini guide scope and camera and meaby the Askar 0.75x Reducer bringing it down to 368mm and the weight will be around 3.8kg / 8.4lbs.

EDIT: And my question is if the new payload is going to be too heavy to get (good or ok guiding) even though it is autoguided and under the 11lbs payload limit?

Hi Everyone,

I went out with my son, and we took our first images of the moon. My setup is a D5100 Nikon DSLR and a NextStar 5se. I'm still very new to the hobby and am reading and learning quite a bit. My son enjoyed the experience and loves going out looking at the stars so much, that I am glad I picked up the hobby.

My question is, how do I get a better focus on the moon?

Here are my images: https://imgur.com/a/Mn2TmJs

I set my D5100 to auto-photograph 6 images at a time after a 2-second delay timer. Then I re-cenetred the moon and did it again. As you can imagine, most of the photos were out of frame. I had no idea how fast the moon moves in the night sky. Wow!

Do I need to set the scope to track the moon? Is there a best way to focus on a bright object like this?

I'd love some advice.

Thanks

Hi everyone! I'm still pretty new to astrophotography and learning the ropes with my first "real" setup: a Star Adventurer GTi, Canon 90D, and a Rokinon 135mm lens. I recently moved on from the Seestar, and let's just say it's been a huge learning curve for me.

I’m imaging from a Bortle 7 area, looking eastward toward downtown Orlando, so light pollution is a big challenge. Unfortunately, I didn’t use the UHC filter my late father had, which might have helped. I've tried processing the image in Siril, but I’m struggling to bring out the best in it.

Would anyone here be willing to work some magic on my photo and show me what’s possible? I’d love to learn more about editing and see what kind of potential my data has. Thanks so much!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n-T5DZY1Do6yKDCvzEWRRB8Ofj08bjH7/view?usp=sharing

I've attached two images of the front element of a telescope I bought second hand. I breathed on them to bring out anything. IMO it looks a bit blotchy, but probably just a bit of dried condensation or something, nothing worth getting the cleaning cloth out for. Just looking for a second opinion.

https://imgur.com/a/SohUjOk

Hello, can you help me to understand why the color of Pleiades is red instead of the blue that it should be in my shot? This is my first time ever getting a visible object in my astrophotography attempts. This was shot in LA (Bortle 4/5) on a DSLR that was tracked. ~200mm f5 ISO 800 and 10sec exposures. I combined 140 lights with 50 of each biases, darks and flats. The white balance on my DSLR is set to daylight. I understand that more lights will balance the noise and bring out more of the gas and dust around the stars but I do not understand why they appear red. Is it really just the light pollution around LA that would cause this? Is my white balance incorrect? Could my flats be the issue? Please help!

https://imgur.com/a/CiGoeF2

I have stacked some images in Eagle Image Stacker but for the life of me can't find where the finished image is located! What am I missing? Thanks guys.

Hello,

I'm interested in pursuing astrophotography in the near future and am trying to choose a camera. If I go all out and get a full-frame camera, I'm looking at the Canon EOS R6 mk ii vs the Canon EOS R8. I am also interested in content creation, so I need something that can shoot 4K video in addition to any features useful for astrophotography. My understanding is that picture quality is the same between the two, but the R6 mk ii has image stabilization, an additional memory card slot, and weatherproofing. I'm leaning towards the R8 for cost reasons, but I'm concerned about the lack of weatherproofing because my usual dark site gets really dewy overnight. Would I be ok without weatherproofing, or is that a real concern?

I was planning to buy the canon ef 50mm f1.8 stm soon to use for astrophotography but I didn't think about the weather at all. I don't have a dew strap and I don't know any place in my country that sells them.

Hi,

I was wondering which one to choose for Nightscapes and milky way photography. A used D7200 goes for around 530$ and a new D7500 is about 700$ on Amazon. Is it worth spending the extra bucks for the 7500? It has 20.9 MP compared to the 24 MP, but the D7500 has a higher iso range. Any suggestions?

Hey everyone!

I’m planning to start a YouTube channel focused on astrophotography, where I’ll vlog my experiences capturing the night sky. I live in a rural area in Greece with minimal light pollution, so I’m fortunate to have clear, dark skies in my backyard.

This will be my first foray into serious astrophotography, and I want to make sure I’m investing in the right equipment. My total budget is €1500, and I’m looking for recommendations for:

• A solid telescope suitable for astrophotography. (no smart telescopes or ED ones, please).
• A good astrophotography camera (either standalone or a DSLR/mirrorless camera that works well for the night sky).
• A reliable mount that can handle long exposures.
• Any essential accessories (filters, tracking equipment, etc.).
• Bonus points if the gear works well for both deep-sky objects and planetary imaging.

Would love to hear your advice and equipment suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! I'm planning a significant lens investment for my a6000, focusing on:

1. Wildlife/nature photography

2. Lunar/celestial photography

3. Microscopy work (currently using the a6000 with an SMZ-U microscope)

After research, I'm leaning towards this setup:

- Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS (~$2000)

- Benro TMA38CL + GD3WH Geared Head (~$700)

Upgrade strategy:

Starting with the glass while keeping my a6000, then upgrading to a better APS-C body later (likely a6400) since I need to maintain APS-C compatibility for my microscopy work.

Some specific questions for those with experience:

- Any a6000 users shooting with the 200-600mm? How's the handling/balance?

- For lunar photography: Is adding the 1.4x teleconverter worth it with the APS-C crop?

- Wildlife shooters: Do you find the internal zoom crucial for field work?

- Any microscopy folks using Sony APS-C cameras - thoughts on a6000 vs a6400 for focus accuracy?

Alternative setup I'm considering:

Tamron 150-500mm + Leofoto LX-364CT/LH-40 (saving about $750 total)

My main concern: Will I regret not getting the Sony 200-600mm for the extra reach and teleconverter option? The price difference for the lens itself is surprisingly small (~$50).

Weight is a consideration but not a dealbreaker. Primary use will be tripod-mounted.

Appreciate any real-world insights, especially from people using these setups for similar purposes!

Edit: Budget isn't as much a concern as getting the right tool for long-term use.

I mainly ask cause I want a super telephoto lens and I’m wondering if this is a good pick.

I have Sony a7III and ioptron sky guider pro.

I am very well aware that this specific lens is a bit overkill but I’m the type of person to make sure all my bases are covered. And I currently have nothing over my 90mm macro. I have a 11mm 1.8, I should have a 50mm 1.8 for Christmas (even if I don’t I’ll buy it before I buy to 200-600), the basic 28-70 that comes with the camera, and an 85mm 1.8.

I’m assuming the lens would work extremely well as long as I set up the sky guider pro properly, long enough exposures, and good light and dark frames as well.

I know f5.6 is horrible (if you don’t have time) for astrophotography but would let’s say a 2 minute exposure give me good enough results if I had a total time of 3-4 hours?

I'm wanting to print out some of my photos in a poster size format to hang on walls what company/website do you guys recommend?