Astronomy Question

[Targa Me]

Hello Everyone,
I am considering a new hobby.
I want to take photographs of stars and planets and anything else that's up there.
I already own a DSLR, but what kind of a telescope would I need?
Since I will be starting this as a newbie, I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a telescope that would be for an advanced user. I need something fairly simple.

Any suggestions on telescopes?

Thanks in advance.
Larry

[Eric Hahl]

Starting out in this hobby can be daunting. A small refractor type telescope is best for a wide variety of objects and ease of use.
Typically an ED or APO type of telescope is best for photography as they focus the colors closer together.
The mount is the most important factor. I repeat, the mount is where you need to spend the money.
You can look at Triplet design refractors here...
https://optcorp.com/collections/telescopes?page=1&rb_filter_ptag_30d4f276d650dbfd9f52699c543e312f=Tr iplet%20Refractor

And the less expensive doublet refractors here...Don't buy a cheap one though. Get at least an ED style.
https://optcorp.com/collections/telescopes?page=1&rb_filter_ptag_30d4f276d650dbfd9f52699c543e312f=Do ublet%20Refractor

William Optics makes great stuff...
https://optcorp.com/collections/telescopes/products/william-optics-zenithstar-81-red

The iOptron CEM and GEM mounts are very nice for the price.
https://www.ioptron.com/category-s/109.htm

Check out the Astronomy Hobby Thread for inspiration. The Astronomy hobby thread

[Eric Hahl]

If you have a budget in mind we can better help find what you need.

[masraum]

There are some guys here that are very knowledgeable on AP (astrophotography). < edit > Eric beat me to the punch. He and Pazuzu are probably the two most knowledgeable experts. There's another guy too, that I think has some history in NJ, maybe it's Flatbutt. I'm sure he's in the hobby thread that Eric posted.

Taking photos of stars and getting them to turn out beautifully, like the stuff that Eric does requires less than cheap gear. There are some new bits that, I believe, have reduced the cost of entrance over what it was in the past.

It also takes a TON of time (hours) for each photograph.

Another good place to begin is the astronomy version of pelican parts, the forums at "cloudynights"

https://www.cloudynights.com/index

They have a section specific to astrophotography including a beginner's section.

I think the cost of entry if you want to really get into it, is going to be ~$1k minimum. I know that in the past there were folks that had some websites for AP on a budget that I think got you down to the $500-600 mark, but those were probably 15-20 years ago.

You can start shooting wide angle, milky way, and moon shots with a DSLR and not much else.

You could get into planetary with a decent scope and a webcam.

But to take shots of nebulas, clusters, galaxies, etc..., that's likely to set you back a bit in $, time, and learning curve.

Oh, I forgot to mention the software side. I believe there are still some great, free stacking programs out there (when using a DLSR, you take a bunch of photos that are usually minutes long, and then "stack" them into one image that is virtually hours long). And you'll need image editing software like Photoshop to edit the details of the images to get the most from your images. I'm not sure what there is available on that side of things these days.

[plexiform]

Definitely join the cloudynights forum. Also pay the small price to join www.astromart.com. Both of those sites are incredible resources for everything astronomy.

I agree go with a small/medium refractor if photography is your primary goal. I would argue that it’s better to spend some time researching but when you’re ready to buy don’t waste time with cheap equipment. Buy a very high quality refractor that you will want to keep and pass on to your kids/grandkids. The difference between a $1k telescope and a $7k telescope is undeniable. If you can swing it, go for the quality scope: Astro-Physics, TEC, Takahashi…. And always buy used. You’ll find incredible deals on the websites mentioned. Good luck!

[masraum]

I feel like the most important part of AP is not the scope (but it is important). I feel like what I've heard is that the most important part for AP is the mount. But maybe these days with autoguiding that's less important. The mount has to track the rotation of the earth for long exposures. It's got to have as little slop as possible. If there's slop, then you end up with stars that aren't pinpoints because the thing moved around during the tracking. That motion will ruin the photos. Back in the day (15-20 yrs ago), the good mounts were about $1500. Maybe the mount that Eric mentions above and autoguiding has gotten around that price issue.

[flatbutt]

My $.02 is to start with visual observation before trying to jump into imaging. By all means purchase a good refractor with the appropriate focal length and speed. Get comfortable with using it and the tracking software visually first. Imaging IS NOT easy.

[Rusty Heap]

another tip would be to skip the DSLR totally and go right to a cooled CCD camera on a lens capturing data right to a laptop.

[Cajundaddy]

Eric takes pretty amazing shots and this hobby is very challenging.

My suggestion is to start with your DSLR and shoot wide angle on a tracking mount (walk before you run). Get really proficient with pinpoint star images in gradually longer exposures under 50mm. There are pretty amazing photos that happen here and you can spend a full year exploring the universe wide angle. A sturdy tripod and wide angle tracking mount can be found for under $1k

Once you are getting fine wide angle images regularly, you are ready to explore the deeper sky and a 400mm F6 ED or equivalent will open up galaxies and clusters to you. This rig starts at around $3k and can go as much as $10k. Develop your skills at this level and then go deeper if you wish. Planetary AP is a very different approach to deep sky where you shoot video at around F25 and then stack and sharpen to get very high res results in post.

I did this for about 10 years back in the 90s with film cameras, a C8, and manual guiding. The gear today is so-much-better as are the results you can get.

Good luck!

[Targa Me]

Wow, lots of great info here.
Thanks a bunch.
I really do appreciate all the input.
L

[Cajundaddy]

This is the scope I currently use for fairly large objects like lunar, comets, solar eclipses. I no longer have the patience or skill in digital post processing for long exposure deep sky. Add roughly $2-3k for a very precise mount with auto guiding and you can spend the next 5 years imaging at this focal length getting really good results.

https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech-at72edii-refractor-ota-fpl-53-f-6.html?___SID=U

[bugstrider]

Following with interest. In the same boat.


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[flatbutt]

A good place to start

https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/57-beginners-forum-no-astrophotography/

https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/77-major-minor-planetary-imaging/

[masraum]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

A good place to start

https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/57-beginners-forum-no-astrophotography/

https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/77-major-minor-planetary-imaging/

Here's the beginners imaging forum