Some History
Meade LXD75 - 6" Newton
Here you can find some history information regarding my progress in this hobby. I will tell you something about the equipment I used and show you my first pictures and even some drawings of deep sky objects.
So it all started in 2012 when I bought this Meade telescope. In the beginning I had some hard times setting it up, polar align and calibrating it. As everybody starting in this hobby, the learning curve is steep in the beginning. Therefore I sought help in a local astronomy club, Sterrenwacht Altair , and there I found some nice people who helped me out and got me started. It's important to have a bunch together with the same interest and goal.
Lunar Eclipse 2015
I had some great time and nights with this scope. During the Lunar Eclipse op 2015, I took some nice pictures of the event with my Canon 450D attached to the OTA.
Meade 12" Lightbridge
After a while I got "aperture-itis", so I wanted a bigger scope. This dobson did fulfill the criteria perfectly. I could spot some really nice globular clusters with it like, M13 and resolve some of the core stars. M42 was really a spectacular sight in the eyepiece. Only downside to this instrument was that I had to aim it in the right direction and that isn't always easy when you have only few stars as a reference. So after a while also this one went into sale.
M13
Sketch of M13 thru the Meade 12" with a 12mm eyepiece, gives this x127 magnification. Field of view 0.5°.
First buy.
Skywatcher Startravel 102/500
Not only aperture counts, but also portability. I got this Skywatcher telescope in 2013, to take with me during small trips. It's a very nice affordable wide field telescope and I used it a lot for visual observations. In combination with the right solar filter I used it also for sun observations. I replaced the original EQ1-mount with my self made mini dobson mount. I sold it in 2019 and I regretted it pretty fast so I bought a second-hand again in December 2021. The idea is now to mainly use it for solar observations with Baader Solar Foil, the TS Solar Wedge or the Daystar Quark Combo (from our local club) as seen below.
Second buy.
Meade SN10"
After a while I wanted something bigger again and I put this beastly Schmidt-Newton to the test. Although I was quite pleased with it for visual observation, it didn't quite fulfill it's expectations for astrophotography. I imaged M13, the ET-cluster with this scope and a Canon 450D. Probably because I was still learning a lot and collimating this giant wasn't always easy. So finally also this one found a new owner.
M13 - Hercules Globular Cluster
TS Photoline 102/715 Triplet
After some journeys with Newton telescopes, I finally got the chance to buy my first apochromatic refractor telescope in 2016. The Telescope Service (TS) 102/715 at f7 was a very nice all-rouder. On top I had a matching flattener/reducer x.79 for a wider field of view and a flatter field. The original focuser though was of the Crayford-type (like with friction) and it had the tendency to slip while a heavier camera was attached to it. I replaced it with a high end rack-and-pinion focuser of TS which was much more precise and stable. I used this telescope for about 4 years mainly for imaging. One of my first shots with this telescope was M45, the Pleiades.
M45 - Pleiades
The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters and Messier 45, are an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. It is among the star clusters nearest to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. This is a 2,5 hrs exposure with my Canon 450D. It's obvious that my processing skills were not at today's level.
Skywatcher Quattro 10"f4
I got this beautiful telescope second hand in 2018, cause new it wasn't sold anymore. Being made from carbon, it's lighter and less susceptible to temperature variations. Here it's depicted while using it for visual observations. Unfortunately I didn't have the correct coma corrector at that time and at f4 it suffers from some obvious coma in the corners of the field of view. The original plan was to use it for imaging, but given the size, weight, coma and collimation requirement I did sell it again in 2019. At the time I didn't have enough experience to turn this magnificent instrument into a light catching canon.
TS Newton 6"f4
While having sold all of my previous Newtons, I wanted to have a "fast" Newton for photography. I tested this Telescope Service f4 OTA for a very short while, with its compact size it was manageable but again collimating the mirrors proved to be a tedious process. To achieve the correct focus I had to use several extension tubes, where the weight of the camera seemed to bend the optical train. So again one mirror-scope went into sale.
M45 - Pleiades
Seems like I'm only shooting M13 or M45, but those are nice and relatively easy targets. This time it's about 1 hr exposure with the TS 6". Obviously there's still a lot of noise, due to the low exposure time but also because it's shot with a DSLR, the Canon 70D. Those uncooled cameras produce a lot of thermal noise.
Skywatcher 150/1200
It's become clear to me that refractors are my best choice for a telescope. I bought this achromatic refractor secondhand, actually like almost all my stuff. It's mounted on a Celestron AVX mount with go-to. This allows me to still enjoy some visual observations with a good f-ratio f8. It's an ideal scope for the moon, with the correct polarization filter, but also for deepsky. M81 and M82 for example fit nicely in the field of view with the correct eyepiece. I had a lot of visual joy with it, but nevertheless I sold it in January 2021 to free budget for a small widefield scope. On my wishlist now is TS61-EDPH f4.5 scope for a wider field astrophotography.
TS Optics 61EDPH-II
I had a great wish to own a nice portable wide-field telescope. So in March 2021, I finally got this little cute telescope from Telescope Service. I made an extensive review of it, that you can read here. Unfortunately I had to return it because it was suffering from chromatic aberration due to a production error in the main lens cell. I returned it and I will get a new one soon.
M31 - Andromeda. This is a 5.7 hrs exposure with this TS61 and the QHY168C camera.
TS-Photon 6"F4 Advanced Newtonian
After some years having only used refractor telescopes I wanted to experiment again with a Newtonian. In fact I also love the typical spikes on the bright stars that are caused by the spider of the secondary mirror. So in January 2022 I bought this small compact mirror telescope at f4-ratio, again from TS. I'm still in the process of getting it up and running to my satisfaction, but it is a promising telescope. You can read my review of it also here.
Tecnosky 102 F11 Refractor
Description from the seller:
"Tecnosky long focal length telescope compensates well for color error. It is great for capturing the Moon and planets at high magnification. Provides excellent contrast and image brightness. Despite its length, the tube weighs only 5.4 kilograms.
Japanese Ohara optics. Provides a less expensive alternative to more valuable ED telescopes. Retractable frost protection facilitates transport.
A good alternative with the right filters for photographing the sun, for example we recommend the Lacertan Herschel wedge."
I can completely backup these claims. I'm really happy with this one, that I bought in the summer of 2022 as a good second hand deal. Picture below is taken with this telescope and a TS Herschel wedge with Solar Continuum filter and ZWO ASI178MC.
