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Hello from Sittingbourne Kent

Astro Kent

By Astro Kent
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Astro Kent

Astro Kent

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Hi everyone :-)

I'm part time wedding tog so have a lot of gear already.

I've heard that Kent council are planning to switch of the lights from 12-5 am .. This is in practice already but not in my area... I hope they do it cos the light pollution here is disgusting !!

Im just starting out with the basics ie nightscapes and using a few different prime lens.

I'm hooked and want to go further but a lot of the telescope terminology is confusing, I plan to save for a

The Skywatcher Evostar 80 DS-PRO ED outfit

EQ3 PRO SynScan mount... I'm unsure if this mount can track for stacking images.

What's does everyone think of this scope and mount combo?

Image attached was taken in the back garden with a 40m pancake on a 5d mark ii

post-35751-0-10877300-1393527932_thumb.j

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swag72

swag72

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Hi and welcome to SGL - Glad that you found us. The 80ED scope that you mention is an excellent starting point. This may sound odd, but THE most important part of an imagers rig is the mount. You need something solid and one that is able to track accurately. To this end, many people recommend the HEQ5. It really is a good mount to start with and will be future proof for a little while at least.

Get yourself a copy of 'Making Every Photon Count' from the book section of the FLO website. It is an imagers bible and it will really help you to understand what you need and why. Don't spend a penny until you have read it through at least twice!! 

If you have decent lens' you could always just get the mount for the time being and use them with your camera and get a scope later.

Hope that helps :smiley:

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Astro Kent

Astro Kent

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Hi,

Thank you for the warm welcome :-)

Every photon counts..... Purchased tonight, looks like a good read.

The HEQ5 mount is 750 quid! Not the kind of money I wanted to spend on my first mount lol, was hoping to keep it under 500.

Would the HQ5 be sufficient for the Skywatcher 80ED.. I can see that it has the goto but what about tracking?

It doesn't have a power supply so that's another added cost. I'm sure there are other things I will have to purchase like the camera adapter... Are there any other accessories that are important?

got stellarium on the ipad tonight.... Awesome learning aid!

Dave.

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi and welcome to the forum.

You might want to consider buying a used HEQ5 as they do come up now and again and if you look  here  on item numbered 78760 (3rd from the top of the main listing ) there is one for sale though slightly more than your budget but still cheaper than new.  I would post questions on additional kit over on the beginner imaging section as you are likely to get more responses there.  :smiley:

Clear skies and hope you enjoy your stay here.

James

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glowjet

glowjet

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Hi Dave and welcome to SGL , stepping into the dark side, you will find you need to have deep pockets, but your first purchase is an excellent start. power supplies can be expensive, but to start with you will be able manage with an SLA 7Ah 12 Volt battery of reputable make, like Yuasa or Power-sonic, which should keep you going for a couple of hours or so, these cost in the region of £12 or so. As James has said, look around for s/h equipment, Astronomer in general normally look after their kit, enjoy :) 

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slickfonzy

slickfonzy

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Hi Dave, welcome to SGL!  I'm just along the coast in Margate and also looking forward to the part-night lighting scheme coming into effect.  You can keep track on the progress of the scheme here to see when it's likely to happen in your area.  That page also links to an interactive map that will show which lights are planned to be switched off, as the decisions are made.

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