Celestron 114 IR moon

[neil phillips]

A 15 year old and recently restored Celestron powerseeker 114  F8

QHY462 C IR 850 filter EQ2 Simple RA Drive. 31st Jan. It was windy blowing the little scope around. Still first light after many years of neglect.

 

[CraigT82]

Wow what a capable little scope. Very nice images! That's interesting that the 426c is sensitive enough at NIR even for an 850nm filter. 

[wouterdhoye]

Very nice!

[neil phillips]

9 hours ago, CraigT82 said:

Wow what a capable little scope. Very nice images! That's interesting that the 426c is sensitive enough at NIR even for an 850nm filter. 

wasnt sure exactly how much signal strength i would get at 850nm with 114mm optics. But surprisingly i had loads of headroom. Backing up the claim this camera sets new levels for IR Sensitivity. 

I can do better with this scope i reckon. Bit worried the clips holding  the primary are too tight. Might have to check.

Cheers Craig.

[neil phillips]

9 hours ago, wouterdhoye said:

Very nice!

Thanks

[happy-kat]

Great to see an IR capture and engaging family participation.

The camera has great sensitivity looking at the spec in IR

Edited February 1, 2021 by happy-kat

[neil phillips]

Cheers guys building mosaics on a EQ2 With a simple RA Drive is quite difficult i am finding. 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very nice and crisp results

[neil phillips]

30 minutes ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

Very nice and crisp results

Thanks Michael. I suspect the primary clips might be a touch overtight. If so it should improve over this first light attempt. I am amazed how these scopes perform on low power  moonmosaics. Who said Celestron 4.5 " powerseekers are not really big enough for starter scopes. For the moon at prime focus i think they are great.

reprocessed this slightly sharper and more carefully. Not as natural but tighter maybe.