View astrophotos taken with these telescopes.
Several different telescopes were used to acquire the images and astrophotos on this web site. The scopes include the following:
A Takahashi FCT-150 refractor telescope with a 6-inch triplet flourite objective operating at f7. I also have a reducer for the scope, which allows it to be operated at f5.9. This APO scope is carried on a Takahashi NJP mount, which has now been converted to a Temma mount.
A Takahashi FS-128 refractor telescope with a 5-inch objective operating at f8, or with the use of a reducer, the scope can operate at f5.9. Some of my first attempts at astrophotography were made with this telescope. This scope is carried on a Takahashi NJP mount.
A Takahashi Epsilon 250 astrograph with a 10-inch mirror operating at f3.4. This scope is carried on a Takahashi NJP mount.
An FS-78 Takahashi refractor telescope with a 3-inch objective. This is a convenient telescope to take on trips, and I used it to take images in Hawaii, Cucacao, and Mauritius. When used alone, the FS-78 scope is carried on a Takahashi EM-10 mount, which was converted to a Temma Jr. mount in May 2005. This telescope has also been used as a guidescope for the FS-128 or Epsilon 250 scopes.
A Takahashi FCT-76 refractor telescope with a 3-inch objective. This telescope has a triplet flourite objective, and with a reducer, can operate at f4.5.
A Takahashi Mewlon 210 Dall-Kirkham telescope. This 8-inch scope is mostly used for visual observations, but is also useful for planetary CCD imaging and imaging small planetary nebula. The telescope has a focal ratio of f11.5 and a focal length of 2415 mm. I sometimes use this telescope to time asteroid occultations. It may be carried by a Takahashi EM-10 mount when used visually, or by a Takahashi NJP mount when used for imaging.
A Coronado Instruments SolarMax 60 refractor telescope with a 60mm objective, a focal length of 400mm, and a focal ratio of f6.6. This is a dedicated solar telescope with a built-in H-alpha filter.
A StarMaster reflector telescope with a 14.5-inch mirror, and a focal ratio of f4.3. This is a Newtonian design on a Dobsonian mount. This telescope includes the Sky Tracker goto-then-track drive system with the Sky Commander digital setting circles.
An SBIG ST-8 CCD, which was subsequently converted to an ST-8E with enhanced cooling, and then again sent back to convert it to an ST-8XE with a USB interface.
An FLI IMG6303E CCD, which was converted from a parallel port interface to a USB interface.
A Phillips ToUcam web cam has been used for planetary images.
A Cannon EOS Digital Rebel has been used for planetary images and a few bright deep sky objects.
Many film exposures were guided using an SBIG ST-4 CCD autoguider on a Takahashi 78mm refractor as a guidescope, sometimes using a Takahashi "vari-extender" to lengthen the focal length of the guidescope.
A Nikon F2 camera body with a DW-2 6x finder
A Mamiya 645AF
An Olympus OM-1 camera
View astrophotos taken with these telescopes.
Recent Images.
Complete list of images.
Home
Feedback and comments should go to Sid