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Newtonian for astrophotography

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astrodad1

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I am probably going to get either a new 8" or 10" newtonian for astrophotography later this year. Any thought on whether an 8" will be big enough? Can't afford a new mount. I will be putting it on an older EQ5 that I am going to convert for autotracking' I am a little worried that the 10" might be a little to heavy for my mount -- will good balancing help make it more stable?

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Have used several telescopes for astrophotograhy.

IF turbulent air is the limiting factor (at my place 500-600 mm focal lenghth seems a good choice having 3-4 arcsec seeing on average - using a sensor with 3.69 micometer pixels - 800 mm focal lenght is fine when using a DSLR). Using longer focal lenghts gives a lager image size and more blur and the same amount of detal in the final image - and a smaller field of view) go for the 8 inch telescope.

With the given mount the 8 inch would be a lot more stable than the 10 inch. Stability is a main concern and the difference in stability between the 8 inch and the 10 inch is like night and day using your existing mount.

Larger telescopes also have the habil of making absolutely EVERYTHING more difficult in the dark.

Am now trying out a 8 inch f/4 newtonian but I guess downsizing is the future here. Turbulent air is my main concern and the 800 mm focal lenght is a bit over the top - seems like shorter focal lenght and sharper images and wider field - and still keeping resolution and image detail seems to be a better road in my case.

Just some free thinking...
 
astrodad1 said:
I am probably going to get either a new 8" or 10" newtonian for astrophotography later this year. Any thought on whether an 8" will be big enough? Can't afford a new mount. I will be putting it on an older EQ5 that I am going to convert for autotracking' I am a little worried that the 10" might be a little to heavy for my mount -- will good balancing help make it more stable?

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes...lector-Telescope/pc/-1/c/1/sc/19/p/101450.uts

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes...flector-Telescope/pc/-1/c/1/sc/19/p/99602.uts
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for your replies. As nice as a 10" looks, it probably is a bad choice at this time. Any other wide field telescopes for astrophotography out there?
 
astrodad1 said:
Thanks for your replies. As nice as a 10" looks, it probably is a bad choice at this time. Any other wide field telescopes for astrophotography out there?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Michael, I think a decent refractor is going to be out of my price range. They do look really nice however. Something bigger than my ED80mm would really open up the skies for me. I have the 12" LX200 that my 80mm is mounted on, but I am not happy with the photographic results I have gotten from the f/10 -- even when reduced to f/6.3. I am really leaning to a nice size newtonian, especially seeing the results you get out of your 10".
 
astrodad1 said:
Thanks Michael, I think a decent refractor is going to be out of my price range. They do look really nice however. Something bigger than my ED80mm would really open up the skies for me. I have the 12" LX200 that my 80mm is mounted on, but I am not happy with the photographic results I have gotten from the f/10 -- even when reduced to f/6.3. I am really leaning to a nice size newtonian, especially seeing the results you get out of your 10".

--
Thanks,
David
Evington, Va
www.davidbrown.zenfolio.com
Click to expand...
Good Morning David!

A Newtonian Telescope is for sure the cheapest and best way to get into astrophotography...but you have to keep in mind that you:
a) have a very large telescope - so wind can easily shake it
b) you have to collimated it and check the way of light - from both mirrors and eyepiece tube
c) you do need a good coma corrector
d) and every Newton under f5.0 is hard to focus or holding focus during changing temperatures if not made out of carbon.

And as I checked - a EQ5 mount has a weight capacity of 7-8kg. So a 8inch Newton is already a bit too much - for astrophotography needs, visually it might be fine.

Me too - having an EQ6pro, weight capacity of 18kg, looking forward of buying an EQ8, cause for a 10inch Newton even an EQ6 is on the edge.

kind regards,

--
Michael S.
EUROPE; dpreview since 2001
NIKON NPS Member
(check equipment via profile)
 
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It will be permanently mounted in the small observatory behind my house.
 
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Sounds good, only I would have to mount it on my car -- cause my wife would kick me out of the house.
 
astrodad1 said:
Thanks Michael, I think a decent refractor is going to be out of my price range. They do look really nice however. Something bigger than my ED80mm would really open up the skies for me. I have the 12" LX200 that my 80mm is mounted on, but I am not happy with the photographic results I have gotten from the f/10 -- even when reduced to f/6.3. I am really leaning to a nice size newtonian, especially seeing the results you get out of your 10".
Click to expand...
You might take a look at some of Astronomics' Astrotech imaging OTAs.
 
Get a good focuser - that is often where the difference between good and great images is hidden. Focusers sticking or loosing colimation or focus can be very frustrating. I got me a Vixen 8 inch newtonian - the focuser is about just good enough - but will undoubtly become trouble when worn a bit...

Finding the f/4 coma corrected focal ratio releiving - fast easy and usually getting decent results.
 
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