On a Budget DSO imaging

[digitalight]

I have a dobsonian telescope but I am thinking about getting more into doing DSO imaging.

I have been reading up on the forums here and understand that in order to start doing DSO photos I need to do long exposures. This means that the dobsonian would not be suitable because i need something that does tracking.

My budget is very tight at the moment. I have seen that refractors are suppose to be really good for DSO.

What I have found so far is a reflector Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ-MD going for £85. It has a motor.

Would this be a good place to start and would it do the job of photographying DSO's at a basic level.

Thanks

[angusb1]

The mount that comes with looks like you may be left disappointed. I think you should look for a CG4 or EQ3-2 so you can polar align, drive both axes and potentially autoguide. Also that mount is a little lightweight to provide the stability you will need to get exposures of a minute or more.

This setup would be ok for visual but not great for DSO photography. A smallish reflector is a good start if you are on a budget, but go for a slightly beefier mount which can be driven in ra and dec and which has a polar scope.

[digitalight]

Ok I might leave it a while then when I have a larger budget. There is a lot do with visual astronomy and taking photos of the moon that will keep me busy for a good while I'm sure.

DSO is something to aim for in the future.

Thanks