Equatorial Mounts

[Neutron]

Ok, I'm a little new to this and really keen to start astro imaging. I wondered if there are any equatorial mounts out there that can be attached to a Jessop 800-80 Astronomical Telescope? I would really like to be able to get some images of nebula or galaxies for my photography book. Thanks for reading.

[Cozzy]

there are many Eq mounts you can put 800-80 with the correct tube rings, its down to how many pennies you have to spend and what you expect to achieve with the set up.

[JamesF]

I'd have a read of the astroimaging book recommended in your other thread before anything else, to be honest. DSO imaging is a complex and expensive area and you really need to have an understanding of what you're getting into before you start. You can't just get a mount, stick any old scope on it and expect to get good images.

James

[rowan46]

If you are going to use a slow scope you need a very good mount. Your scope at f10 (that's the ratio between apparture and focal length) is considered slow for imaging.

[Stargazer Jack]

Also, I am not sure if the Jessop telescope can hold a DSLR however I maybe wrong.

[JamesF]

Actually, if you're into photography already then quite possibly you have a collection of lenses that would be better suited to imaging than the telescope. You'd still need a tracking mount, but there's no reason you couldn't just put a ball head and camera directly on the mount and use a decent 200mm or 300mm lens.

James

[Neutron]

Thanks for all your help guys, I'll explain myself a bit better. I have quite a vast knowledge of the actual objects I'd like to image and I have basic knowledge of photography and how to use a DSLR. For example, I understand that you need quite long exposure times for the camera to actually capture the light and for this, the image has to be steady. I also know that you need processing packages to clean up the image. It's just that AP is a bit of a new area I'd like to explore and I'm just a bit unclear of the equipment needed. Thanks again.

[JamesF]

Read the book Things really will make far more sense then. There are so many different choices you can make and it will give you a much better picture of what your options are than is easily possible in a thread here. One day, someone might even read it and come to their senses

James

[JamesF]

Here's an example of what's possible with just a camera and lens on an equatorial mount (though I'd not really recommend the EQ3-2 for long-exposure imaging):

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/162867-a-better-wide-field-andromeda-galaxy/

A 300mm lens on that camera would probably be better for that image, but DSOs are all different sizes obviously, so what suits one won't necessarily be right for others. Longer exposures would have been better, but the mount wasn't drift-aligned and was just starting to show star trails at the exposure length I was already using.

James

[RikM]

I agree with James. Read the book first, then think a bit. Astroimaging is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike daytime photography.