Re: Telescopes for astrophotography

Timothy Stark wrote: 
Hello folks,

I was shopping for new telescopes for astrophotography for planets, moon, and deep sky. I looked at some Celestron/Meade telescopes. Does anyone have any experiences with Celestron S-GT and CPC and Meade LX90 and LX200GPS? I am considering Celestron C8S-GT or C925S-GT. Which telescopes can handle long-expurose with my Nikon D70 for deep sky?

I recently read astronomy magazines and noticed that Newt and SCT are best for astrophotography. Well, I forget to tell something about Newt. Can Newt handle long-expourse for deep sky?

Thanks!
Tim




For time exposures, the mount will be a significant factor. You'll want an equatorial mount with provisions for talking to an auto guider. (You'll want an autoguider for exposures longer than about 2 minutes)

As for the type of telescope, I like apo refractors for deep sky photography. No central obstruction, and the faster F ratios cut down on the exposure time. I like them for planets too, but you need a monster to get a good image scale.

The D70 is good for the Moon, but you're likely to prefer a webcam for planets. (The web cam can be used with a laptop to create your autoguider for deep sky)

In round numbers, if you look at a planet through a scope with a 28mm eyepiece, that's about what the D70 chip will see at prime focus. A webcam is more like a 5mm eyepiece.

A 1400mm focal length scope will give nearly a full frame image of the Moon or the Sun on a D70.

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