Attachments for etx 90 to see colours in deep space

[Jess]

Hi so i have a meade etx 90 and im pretty sure ive seen a few nebulae etc but i want to see them in colour what can i get to see that and also any attachments that can take pictures for me. Thanks

[Olsin]

Simply put, you won't see colour in any DSO's if you're just looking in the eyepiece. They will for the most appear as a greyish smudge mark against a dark background, if you can see them at all. Faint nebula and suchlike only really become apparent through astrophotography.

Images like your profile picture are achieved by long exposure photography. This is NOT how they appear to a naked eye looking through a telescope eyepiece.

Astrophotography can be a rather demanding discipline. I suggest you read through AP posts here and elsewhere to get an overview of the kit, techniques and the myriad problems/challenges you're likely to encounter.

[ronin]

Sorry not gong to happen with an ETX-90. Owing to the diameter and the general magnification(s) I would doubt that even M42 under dark skies would deliver any colour. Equally you are Australia but I am not aware of anything that would be brighter in your skies.

Photographing objects will be difficult. The ETX is really not built to have someone attach 3/4Kg DSLR to the rear. Which in many respects puts DSO long exposure imaging out of it.

You could attach a webcam and get images of planets. You get a video of these then select and stack in something like Registax or AS2. For more idea ask again.

IF you bought something like the ZWO cameras they take video and long exposure and are small. So then DOS imaging to some extent may occur. Only MAY.

For this you would need to put the ETX on an EQ "mount" - did it come with a Meade Tripod ? Then you set the mount type in the ETX menu to Equatorial. Then aim the scope mount (the 2 fork arms" at True South (for you). And do the alignment. (Think that strictly this may be unnecessary owing to the Eq setup but do it mainly for the goto feature).

After all this you have an Equatorial tracking scope, and a small camera capable of say 15 second exposures (the scope is likely not going to track accurate enough for longer).

Bit involved and not the best but that is about it.

Guess yo do not have many problems with light pollution.