DSLR Astro Photography with Astronomik Clip-Filter System I decided that I would dive into astrophotography long before I’d purchased my first telescope. In fact, my first foray into this dark art involved a DSLR, a 50-mm lens and a secondhand Orion EQ-1 mount with a motor drive. It was a […]
Author: Stuart Parkerson
Repair Your Telescope Equipment
Repair Your Telescope Equipment: I used J-B Weld for years to repair minor cracks and breaks in metal components when I couldn’t justify the cost of a proper brazing-machining repair. It’s great stuff, but it sets quickly – within four minutes – and requires mixing the epoxy filler with […]
Polar Aligning a Mount
Polar Aligning a Mount: This Astro Tip was snagged as one of the many great ideas shared by Astronomy Technology Today reader Paul Chasse. It focuses on helping to make polar alignment a smooth process. Pay attention, because this may save you some time and frustration down the road. When […]
PrimaLuceLab SPIDER230c Radio Telescope
PrimaLuceLab offers a unique opportunity to enjoy the cosmos and beyond with the SPIDER230c radio telescope that combines radio technologies with that of amateur astronomy, packaged in a powerful, modular and easy-to-use system. The SPIDER230c radio telescope uses a WEB230-5 antenna – a mesh 2.3-meter diameter parabolic antenna designed to […]
Vixen Advanced Polaris Mount
The Vixen Advanced Polaris Mount offers an easy to use, versatile telescope mounting system designed to incorporate functional modules that can be configured to produce a highly-portable system optimized for your particular application. The Vixen Advanced Polaris Mount system is offered in four basic configurations: Alt-AZ, Manual German EQ, Motorized […]
StarSync Tracker Barn Door-Style Wide-Field Tracker
Kansas-based Gary Hug’s StarSync Tracker is a modified barn door-style wide-field tracker with controller and stepper driver. Built by Gary in the USA, the StarSync Tracker utilizes all aluminum and stainless-steel construction, with a solid hinge and bronze bushings. Perfect for DSLR astro imagers on the go, the tracker is […]
Atik Infinity Video Astronomy Camera
The Atik Infinity is Atik’s first camera dedicated to video astronomy. The Infinity is available in either the mono or color version of the Sony ICX825 sensor, embedded with EXview HAD CCD II technology for outstanding sensitivity and Quantum Efficiency at a resolution suited to near real-time viewing. The 6.45-µm […]
Takahashi Epsilon-130D Astrograph
Takahashi Epsilon-130D Astrograph: Takahashi first introduced their Epsilon Series flat-field hyperbolic astrographs in the mid 1980’s with the Epsilon-130 offering the smallest aperture and most portable of the series. The Epsilon optical system features a hyperbolic primary and a digital corrector to produce a flat field image that excels for […]
The Golden Age of Amateur Astronomy
I read Uncle Rod’s post on Amateur Astronomy “What’s Gonna Happen to Us?”, and I walked away with quite different conclusions. First, I want to say I have the utmost respect for all that Uncle Rod has done for amateur astronomy. His work in print and online is sage advice […]
Amateur Astronomy and New Beginnings
As many of you know, I (Gary Parkerson – pictured here) am editor of the magazine Astronomy Technology Today as well as the content on this website. You also many be familiar with the work of Rod Mollise, although you probably know him better as Uncle Rod. No doubt, you’re also aware […]
Celestron CGEM II Mount Review
Celestron CGEM II Mount: The Celestron CGEM, CGEM II and CGEM DX mounts are a midsized class of German Equatorial Mounts (GEM) generically called EQ6 mounts. They are similar to the Orion Atlas mount and the Sky-Watcher EQ6. These mounts are higher capacity mounts than the Celestron Advanced VX but […]
Astronomy Chart Light – Gloucester Field Lamp
By Michael Deneen Astronomy Chart Light – Gloucester Field Lamp: A few years ago, I started searching for a dimmable, battery-operated red-LED field lamp for my chart table, and I was surprised to find none on the market. I decided to build one on my own, and it has changed […]