What is the best telescope and camera to take space pictures with?


telescope
Marshall asked:


I am interesting in purchasing a telescope and camera combo that I can use to take nice, clear quality pictures of the moon, sun, space, solar system, etc. What is the best model to get that is affordable yet has the ability to zoom in good?

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 31st, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Astronomy & Space. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “What is the best telescope and camera to take space pictures with?”

  1. Mark H Says:
    June 3rd, 2009 at 10:08 am

    Imaging is probably the most expensive aspect of the hobby of astronomy, so what you’re looking for probably doesn’t exist.

    For taking pictures of the Moon and Planets, you could get by with something like a Celestron Neximage camera with a laptop and a dobsonian telescope. Orion sells Dobsonians that are reasonably well made, at reasonable prices. The Starblast sells for about $200. You’d be better off with a somewhat larger one that includes a 2″ focuser.

    You could add a white light solar filter to the front of a dobsonian and take pictures of sun spots.

    If you want to take photos showing solar prominences, and the granularity of the Sun, the “cheap way” to go is to buy something like a Coronado PST for about $500. You’ll need a tripod for it. That scope is only useful for observing the Sun.

    If you want to take photos of deep sky objects, you’ll need a telescope that uses an equatorial mount. Inexpensive equatorial mounts are not stable enough for imaging.

    Avoid any telescope that comes in a box that tells you how much power it has. If it says 300 POWER! and you can lift it, it’s a toy that will be frustrating to use.

    You’ll probably need to spend at least $1,000 to get a suitable mount with a newtonian reflector designed for imaging. Then you’ll need a different camera than you need for planets.

    Most people I know who take astronomical images have spent at least $5,000 on their equipment. People who are serious about it often spend several times that.

    My advice is find an astronomical society or club, and attend some meetings, and see what their members have. You might also try attending some “star parties” - these are gatherings of people who are very serious about the hobby, and it’s not uncommon to find at least one person at a star party who is imaging.

    Here is a link to some of my images: <>

    This is a link to a photo of Saturn a friend and I took with my equipment: <>

    If you happen to be within a reasonable distance of south western CT you could visit my astronomical society. <>

    Good luck.

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