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Tuesday, 15 September 2020

I need a new telescope!

I spent some time yesterday afternoon rigging up a counterbalance on my 4.5" refractor and attaching a DSLR with a 3x Barlow lens in anticipation of a clear sky. This duly occurred, so I set up in the back garden and began trying to image Jupiter, Mars and Saturn: the results are below.

I now realise a few things about these 'cobbled together' attempts at astro-imaging:

*  The focus on my 'scope is not sensitive enough

*  Without an equatorial mount, the ISO has to be too high and the f-stop too low for a sharp image

*  What you see is not what you get.

I think I've just about reached the limit of what is possible with a low-end refractor on an altazimuth mount. The thing is, I'm 70 soon. Is there any point in spending a couple of thousand pounds to take better quality photographs that no-one will ever really look at?



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3 comments:

  1. Anne and Pam15 September 2020 at 17:00

    Go for it David. Think of the pleasure it will give you - forget the age thing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. high peak15 September 2020 at 17:46

    if you can afford it why not, you should have at least 20 years left in you

    ReplyDelete
  3. David Bryant15 September 2020 at 18:06

    Thanks so much, ladies!
    Now where did I put that two 'grand'? ;)

    ReplyDelete

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