new to the field, getting into astrophotography, need advice

Spock77 · Guest

Hello,

I recently bought a Celestron C90 MAK spotting scope to initially use as super telephoto lens for my Sony A100 DSLR camera for terrestrial viewing. I of course have started taking the whole setup out at night for celestial viewing. I can get good pictures of the moon so far, but that’s about it.

I’m new to the astronomy field, and would like to maximize my C90 for astrophotography, primarily for planetary viewing.

I’ve added a 2x Barlow lens for viewing, but the photos I can currently take don’t really compare to what I can see thru my 32mm eye with the Barlow attached. I’ve been looking thru some of the other messages about astrophotography, and what I would like to know is how I would go about adapting my C90 to use my camera thru eyepiece projection, and the sort of attachments that I would need to do so. It’s my understanding that this would allow me to take photos through the eyepieces and not the primary lens. I already have the proper T-ring and T-ring adapter.

Also, about magnification, it’s my understanding that the useful magnification of my scope will be about maximized with a 6mm lens, is this correct?

Finally, looking ahead I will eventually want to upgrade to a significantly larger and more powerful telescope, again for astrophotography primarily for planetary viewing. My budget would be between $700 and $1000, and would prefer that most of my current accessories would cross-over to it. I would appreciate a recommendation.

Michael A.

Jne_K · Site Admin Joined: 24 Sep 2003 Posts: 5509

Hi

You're really going in the wrong direction. You aren't getting good pics of anything other than the moon because you are using the wrong mount, not the right accessories for the scope. It's all in the mount. Getting pics of celestial objects, other than the moon, requires motorized tracking because of the long exposures required, sometimes running into hours and because of the high magnifications involved, which not only magnify the object, but also magnify the rotation of the earth. You would need to mount your C90 on a motorized astronomy mount before you can go beyond the moon. Uisng a phot tripod is a dead end for astrophotography.

For the basics on astrophotography, see my short article,
Astrophotography in a nutshell

The best platform for astrophotography is a motorized or computerized equatorial mount, though you can always add a wedge to an arm or fork mount. I'd start with the Celestron C8N Advanced GT or similar. Be advised, though, that astrophotography is a big step. You are going to need to learn the basics of astronomy and telescope use before you can expect to take good pics.
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