r/telescopes 30m ago

Equipment Show-Off Upgrade Complete- Cat 91

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Upvotes

Finally got around to upgrading from the redcat 71. Wanted something with a bit more resolving and light gathering power.

Cat 91 bought Refurbished direct from WO
ASI 6200MM pro
Antlia 4.5 edge SHO filters 50mm unmounted
Antlia V Pro LRGB filters 50mm unmounted
ASI Air plus
EAFN
ZWO 7 position 2” filter wheel
HEQ5 pro W/ Rowan Belt Mod Kit
ASI 220 guide cam
WO 50mm uniguide scope


r/telescopes 1h ago

Equipment Show-Off The sliver beauty

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Upvotes

From my 8inch dob. Germany


r/telescopes 2h ago

Astronomical Image Venus

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16 Upvotes

Captured using a Starsense Explorer 127az with an SV205.

Stacked 5% best of frames from a 2:37 video. Stacked in Autostakkert and sharpened in Registax.


r/telescopes 5h ago

Purchasing Question Is this optic in good shape if I were to buy?

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7 Upvotes

r/telescopes 8h ago

Equipment Show-Off made a homemade finder

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3 Upvotes

aperture: 40

magnification: 6

It used to have a 5x24 finder scope.

What do you think of my homemade project?


r/telescopes 9h ago

Purchasing Question Looking for advice on purchasing a telescope as bday gift!

2 Upvotes

Hi, r/telescopes ! A best friend of mine's milestone birthday is in a couple months, and I'm looking for some more information on purchasing her a telescope as a present.

We live in NYC (unfortunately, the light pollution is very high--a 9.0 on the Bortle scale), so I don't exactly know what I can expect her to be seeing, but I hope to purchase something that allows her to see the Moon, planets, and other bright objects. I'm looking for a telescope in the $400-$600 range, and after lurking on this subreddit and reading the beginner's guide, I'm thinking of the following as some potential options:

The Sky-Watcher 6" Classic Dobsonian Telescope

The Apertura AD6 Dobsonian 6" Telescope with Accessories

The Celestron StarSense Explorer 130mm Tabletop Dobsonian

The Celestron StarSense Explorer 114mm Tabletop Dobsonian

She has a backyard space in her apartment complex and a large park nearby that would allow her to set up a telescope outside, but I think most of her viewing will most likely be done through an open window. Would any of the telescopes I'm interested in purchasing be suitable for her? I'm also looking for a telescope that I'd preferably be able to buy at a physical location, just so if I have any last-minute burning questions, I can have them answered in-person. If not, online shopping works too! Also, are there any accessories I can purchase to make her viewing experience more enjoyable?

I'd greatly appreciate any guidance or recommendations this community has. It would be wonderful to get my best friend a closer look at what she loves.


r/telescopes 9h ago

Astrophotography Question Will the ZWO M48 to M42 Adapter allow me to connect the Asi678mc to the Sv193?

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1 Upvotes

I recently received the SV503 + SV193 focal reducer but will not be able to use the reducer with the extenders that I have. I'm thinking of getting the ZWO M48 to M42 adapter, just wanted to ask if that's the best way forward. Thanks


r/telescopes 9h ago

Astrophotography Question Deep-sky astrophotography with an iPhone and a manual Dobsonian?

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone!
I’ve recently started observing with a Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P and I’d like to try taking some deep-sky photos with my iPhone 16 through the eyepiece.
I know a Dobsonian isn’t designed for long-exposure astrophotography, but I’m curious what is realistically possible.
Has anyone here had good results with a smartphone on a manual Dobsonian? Do you mainly take many short exposures and stack them, or is there another technique that works well?
I’d love to hear your experiences before I start experimenting. Thanks!


r/telescopes 10h ago

Purchasing Question Should i get a Mini Dwarf.

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22 Upvotes

Should i get the Smart Telescope mini dwarf its budget friendly and im suprised my his resullts i live in bortle 4 skies so its ideal. I dont want to spend 2k Euros for alot of gear yet.


r/telescopes 12h ago

Equipment Show-Off First night with Asi Air+ Sky-Watcher 8" Go-To

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7 Upvotes

I was worried about this configuration would work, but as you can see, it's performing quite well.

Precise leveling is crucial for proper operation.

-Sky Watcher 200p go-to

-Asi Air 256Gb

-Zwo Asi 224Mc

On the photo M13 and Venus


r/telescopes 12h ago

Astronomical Image Saturn from sweden

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265 Upvotes

i tried the lunar/planetary livestack function in sharpcap pro. the seeing was horrible but i think the livestacking function helped a bit + some noice reduction and sharpening in topaz photos and registax im pretty happy with the result

telescope : Celestron 8edgehd Mount : CGX Camera : ZWO asi 678


r/telescopes 16h ago

General Question Hello! New and need help. Please lol

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68 Upvotes

So, I'm a 44 year old chef. I have always loved everything space, and my fiance recently bought me a very cost effective telescope for Christmas. The Celestron Starsense Explorer DX. A very basic, starter telescope for sure, but I love it. I need help though if you guys could. I have ZERO experience with telescopes. The base telescope came with a 25mm and a 10mm eye piece. The 10mm seems to be the highest "zoom" of both the lenses. My main question is, what do the mm measurements on the lenses mean for the zoom, and are there any lenses I can buy to look at objects further away. I would absolutely LOVE to see Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, anything haha. All I can really see now with the eye pieces I have is the moon. The app that came with the telescope seems kinda wonky as it doesn't really dial into any celestial objects with any sort of accuracy. The only thing I can see is the moon, and that's because I can actually "see" it with the naked eye. Any sort of help would be greatly appreciated. And please don't be a condescending ass haha. Every experience I have with Reddit is some dude telling me I suck or I'm dumb. I really love this stuff, and I would genuinely love to learn more, but this app tends to turn me off every single time I try to ask something 🤣. Thanks guys!

Here's my first picture of the moon by the way!


r/telescopes 16h ago

Astronomical Image Tiangong Space Station

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147 Upvotes

I finally captured the Tiangong Spsce Station! 78 degree pass and was able to get around 40 frames and had just caught it as it got to zenith thankfully. Very happy with my first attempt on it.

Nexstar 9.25” evolution

asi662mc

zwo uv/ir cut


r/telescopes 17h ago

Observing Report 8” dobs Star Hopping to (511) Davida

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22 Upvotes

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vjnzHv-nBqw&ra=m

Star Hopping to the 7th largest main belt asteroid (511) Davida. The nights are long and the asteroids are high in altitude but the winter conditions limit the observations. I’m able to stay ahead of the dew point by moving quickly. Setting up three times over a two hour period and snapping a shot with my iPhone through the eyepiece. My 8” dobs is a quick and easy setup, it’s f/6 is fast enough for a 3” second exposure iPhone 15 snapshot. Handheld @ Eyepiece.

Galaxies and Comets would have you waiting for the moon to pass. Not Asteroids. Any time is the right time(while the ecliptic is high).


r/telescopes 21h ago

Purchasing Question Recommendations for 2" eyepieces.

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28 Upvotes

Just picked up this Orion Skyquest XT10 off marketplace. I'm moving up from an Orion 6" tabletop. I'm looking for recommendations for 2" EPs that will pair well with this scope. The amount of choices and opinions out there is quite overwhelming. I'll mainly be observing galaxies and nebula, sometimes planets and such. Wide field of view and decent eye relief a plus (i wear glasses). It came with a 2" Orion DeepView 35mm and adapter for 1.25". I also have a 1.25" Orion Epic ED2 9.5mm and assortment of cheap Celestron EPs and a barlow that are pretty junky from my 6". Budget is around $400 and would like to add at least 2 or 3 EPs to my arsenal. Thanks!


r/telescopes 23h ago

General Question Sticky Handles

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28 Upvotes

My Celestron SkyMaster binoculars (71009) are great for viewing, but they have become very sticky to touch.

Is this common? What will work to safely remove it?


r/telescopes 1d ago

Astrophotography Question Moon appears too big in scope

3 Upvotes

So I’ve been using a canon r7 (crop sensor 22.3mm x 14.8mm) with a 700mm focal length scope to photograph the moon. I decided to buy a 2x Barlow lens making the scope effectively 1400mm. That would make the cameras fov .61° x .91° ( using the equation FOV = 2arctan(d/2f)), and since even a supermoon’s apparent size is .56° I would expect the moon to fit in the frame. I tried it out, and the moon did not fit. Does anyone know why?

At the end of the day I just bought a cheap Barlow lens on an impulse, but I am looking investing into a nicer scope for the moon and I’m trying to decide what specs are best.


r/telescopes 1d ago

Purchasing Question Is any of these telescopes worth getting?

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22 Upvotes

Found these two telescopes and I wonder if they would be good telescopes to observe the moon and planets. I need the photos to be kinda clear at least for the big planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. So are these any good or they’re junk ?

The white one is: Versatile refractor telescope has a 70mm aperture and 700mm focal length. 50$

The gray one is : New Barska Starwatcher 600 Power 80060 telescope. 80$


r/telescopes 1d ago

General Question Does this mirror need cleaned

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24 Upvotes

2 images with flash one without doesn’t look as bad with no flash


r/telescopes 1d ago

General Question What is something like this worth? Any insight would be great. More info below

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1 Upvotes

My friend inherited and is selling this telescope. He says it turns on but he doesn’t know how to or if it does program and operate. Any insight would be great! Thanks


r/telescopes 1d ago

General Question Should I clean mirror

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1 Upvotes

Looks fine until I shine a torch on it and shows up the dust


r/telescopes 1d ago

General Question Mystery telescope help!

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18 Upvotes

Hello, sorry to intrude. Helping a friend with a hoarder house cleanout and we found a mystery telescope! So far we have narrowed down the era to maybe the late 90s, but the decedent did not keep the manual with the equipment. We have also found several smaller parts separately that seem to be for the same telescope, but do not fit into the holes provided. Any help identifying it so we could hunt down a manual would be appreciated!


r/telescopes 1d ago

General Question Je voudrais voir la lune 🥲

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1 Upvotes

Bonjour,
J’ai reçu pour mon anniversaire mon premier télescope : un Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P.

Le problème, c’est que je n’arrive absolument rien à observer. J’ai pourtant l’impression d’avoir correctement monté et réglé le télescope.

Hier soir, je me suis lancée en pointant une étoile très brillante. Malheureusement, je n’ai absolument rien vu. 😂

En regardant des conseils sur Internet, j’ai lu qu’il valait mieux commencer par un objet fixe en plein jour pour vérifier les réglages. Cet après-midi, j’ai donc essayé de viser un objet éloigné. J’obtenais seulement du flou ou une zone lumineuse, mais jamais l’objet lui-même. J’ai fait la mise au point en tournant le porte-oculaire dans les deux sens, sans succès.

Je me suis ensuite dit que l’objet était peut-être trop petit. J’ai donc attendu la tombée de la nuit pour observer la Lune. Cette fois, j’avais davantage de luminosité qu’en journée, mais toujours impossible de distinguer la Lune. À travers l’oculaire, je ne voyais qu’une zone très lumineuse ou floue.

Je précise que je n’utilise pas encore le chercheur point rouge, car j’ai lu qu’il pouvait être mal réglé d’usine et je préfère d’abord comprendre le fonctionnement du télescope et j’utilise l’oculaire de 25 mm fourni avec le télescope.

Est-ce que vous auriez une idée de ce que je fais mal ou de ce que je pourrais vérifier ? J’ai sûrement raté quelque chose, mais je ne vois vraiment pas quoi.

Merci d’avance pour vos conseils !


r/telescopes 1d ago

Purchasing Question LX3 10" SCT at $650 bucks: worth the risk?

1 Upvotes

I have a Skywatcher 150p and was hoping to upgrade to a 10" scope. A used Meade LX3 came on the market near me for $650, but the drive on the tripod is no longer working. I'm more interested in the optical tube assembly but I know there are some concerns about the silver coating tarnishing on the secondary mirror.

Is it worth picking up at $650? Does anyone have experience with those early Meade SCT's, specifically the LX3?


r/telescopes 1d ago

Purchasing Question Eyepiece recommendation for skywatcher 150p heritage

3 Upvotes

I recently bought the skywatcher 150p heritage as my first telescope and I am wondering where I should go with upgrading the eyepieces for it, the price range I'm looking for is around 40-70$.