r/telescopes

This was taken from the Kagga Kamma Remote Observatory and is a small section of a larger 21-panel mosaic that I did in collaboration with my friends Dave and Chris. I recommend checking out the better resolution image on Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/i/pdxs0b

Some additional info on my website: https://www.naztronomy.com/gallery/image/900/vela_supernova_subsection_filaments

This is actually a mosaic itself, sections of 5 different panels totaling about 30 hours of data (if my math is correct). We wanted to get more data but due but Vela is setting faster and faster and the weather in the winter has been getting poorer. Hope to retry next year in mono!

Here is the equipment list:

- Telescope: Askar SQA85
- Camera: QHYCCD QHY268 Pro C
- Mount: Proxisky UMi 20S
- Filter: Antlia ALP-T Dual Band 5nm 2"
- Software: NINA, PixInsight, Siril (mosaic processed using my OSC PP script)

I've been going back and forth on the color, I think I want to do the whole 21 panel mosaic a little differently but wanted to show off this section of Vela. 

If anyone's interested, I interviewed the observatory owners here: https://youtu.be/xgea5UQlhY4

I got a powerseeker 127eq. I know its not recommended but I got it off hand for 50$. And im going to make it work. Im stubborn. Everything is good but Im not sure what all to get, to help get started. Im saving up for a celestron 8se. But if there's anything one recommends. Help would be much appreciated. I know i need a finderscope and some additional eyepieces but any tips would be nice.

Reposted to include all the pictures :)

After months of searching my local second-hand market, I found a 10" Dobsonian for €230! It came with two finderscopes (an Omegon and a Chinese red dot finder) but only a 5mm eyepiece. Both mirrors were extremely clean. We actually struggled to remove the dust cap, so it was probably stored closed inside a garage for years. I tried to manually collimate it and point it at a cloud, but I could only see the blue sky, I don't really know if it's even focussed correctly. Is laser collimation my only option here?

Any advice in general to use this scope ?

Is there anything I can 3d print to make my life easier ?

Hey I have the MAK127 from Svbony and apparently they sell a solar filter to check out what's cracking over at the sun.

Is such a thing really good enough to not hurt my eyes? Can anything go wrong? Is there a maximum time I should look at the sun with something like that? Or should I buy something "non-chinese" (not meant offensive)? I dunno, I'm just used to Aliexpress quality and they sell my scope there. And no way am I risking my eyesight for something like this.

And they mention on the site "look the the sun below 100x" and wondered if that's a translation issue or something, or is too much magnification actually an issue?

Link: https://www.svbony.com/products/sv229-solar-eclipse-telescope-filter-140mm

Shot July 4, 2026 with Nikon Z8 and Takahashi TSA-120 telescope with Vernonscope Dakin 2.4x barlow on ZWO AM5 mount. 820 frames at ISO 64 1/40s pre-processed in Photoshop, exported to TIFF, aligned in PIPP, and stacked in AutoStakkert 4. Post processed and sharpened in Photoshop. All photos taken by me, Adam Jackson, a Houston, Texas based astrophotographer.

Seestar S50 Telescope

Hello, I have a 50-mm smart telescope for astrophotography. I d like to photograph the Lagoon Nebula (M8) for several hours. Is this filter suitable? Should I disable the specialized filter in the app and use this filter instead for these photos?

Will it produce a clearer image with more vivid colors?

Optolong 7-nanometer Dual Narrowband Filter from Extreme (H-alpha and O-III) (2 inches)

M101 Galaxy from Rome, Italy Bortle 8/9

264 Lights, 50 dark

Iso200 x 70sec

Skywatcher StarAdventurer GTI
SkystarEvo 72ED
ZWO EAF Pro Autofocuser
SonyAlpha68 2015

No filter

Hello everyone

From Rome, Italy

SonyAlpha68
Skystar EVO72ED
Skywatcher StarAdventurer GTI
Autofocuser ZWO EAF PRO

My first serious attempt at editing with Siril and Graxpert. Already had experience with Gimp.

The data is a 2x mosaic with the Seestar s50 in alt az mode. 63 minutes of 10 second exposures.

Processed stacked fit from seestar in graxpert for background and denoise, siril for stretch, color and detials, graxpert again to extract background and noise caused by siril, Gimp for color, curves, contrast and Lightroom Mobile free for the maximum details.

Hi kind telescope folks. I'm looking for some advice and I hope someone can help.

My kid has been consistently asking for a telescope for his fourth birthday for about a year now so were planning to go ahead with it. The problem is we know nothing about telescopes or astronomy and turns out the telescope scene is a complicated place!

We just need a simple one that will encourage his passion but won't overwhelm us or a four year old. We are looking at these 2 (below).

We were hoping you folks would be kind enough to share some advice on whether these would work and/or what sorts of tings we should be looking at for something simple for a four year old? We can buy something more complicated or professional later if he sticks with it

Thanks so much for your time!

https://www.teds.com.au/products/skywatcher-70az2-refractor-telescope-with-2x-eyepieces?variant=42715818295339&srsltid=AfmBOooxkgHpB5bOwrX14LoOGLH7utg-QOyVQvL3bDGYsjYT6p22A1\_SD5k

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07M5S8B5X

Hey everyone, usually I just lurk but I wanted to poll the hivemind today and get some insight from folks! Tldr up front followed by further detail for those interest!

tldr: I want to treat myself to a new telescope upgrading from a 5" dob - mostly visual astronomy but also starting my journey in astrophotography. What are your thoughts on a celestron 11" SCT (is the EdgeHD worth the price when JUST starting photography?) What about mounts? Is the AM7 overkill? I have many eyepieces from my dob, but what other accessories might I need? Finder scope? Upgraded diagonal? Living in the southwest, how important is a dew protection?

Detailed version:

I'm almost 40 and want to get myself a bigger telescope! I'm thinking of picking up an SCT either 9.25 or 11" upgrading from my 5" tabletop dob. I have a yard in a bortle 7 are, but can travel about an hour or so to get to bortle 1-2. It won't be frequent journeys but it's possible for me! I mainly do visual astronomy and love sharing the views with my kid and visiting family but I'm also interested to start dabbling in astro-photography (over time, I know that equipment can add up quick). I'm looking to try and keep costs no higher than (Lord forgive me) 6 or 7k. What are your thoughts on scope and equally importantly mount?

I was thinking of the celestron 11" SCT (https://www.highpointscientific.com/celestron-c11-sct-aluminum-optical-tube-with-cge-dovetail-91036-xlt). I'm sure the 9.25" would be an upgrade over my 5" dob, but if I can afford the 11" surely that would be better, right? The 925 is 8lbs lighter and a bit shorter, but I'm still young and strapping enough that that won't be make or break for me - I'd just as gladly haul a 30lb telescope out of the house as a 20lb one. I see the EdgeHD is about 1.2k more than the C11 but my understanding is that the increased price due to the additional work to make the entire image more "flat" so you can get better pictures through it. Sounds nice, but for an amateur only starting their astrophotography journey and mainly still doing visual astronomy it doesn't SEEM like I'm the target audience for that necessarily. Sure nice to have, but without a robust photography setup it would be wasted on someone like me surely? Is my understanding correct here?

The mount is where I REALLY need some help. My dob is obviously all setup with it's tabletop mount and it works great, but I obviously need something if I get the SCT. I was thinking I'd also like to get an equatorial mount and start getting used to that now - my understanding is that if I ever want to take videos/multiple exposures over time to stack in the future I'm gonna need an equatorial mount to adequately track the movements of the stars across the skies - I'd hate to by a mount now "just to have one" and then end up having to buy another one later to replace it, you know? If I can afford it, just get the better one I'll ultimately need.

I'm looking to have a mount that can track a given star/DSO (again for photography eventually, but also just as a cool feature so I don't have to manually track things either), BUT I'd still like to be able to use it like alt/az to swing around and just look at interesting things in the sky (like I currently do with my dob). I understand an equatorial mount isn't strictly required for imaging, but I'd LOVE to take some long exposures of deep sky objects. I had recently seen a review of the AM7 mount and through that found the AM5 (https://www.highpointscientific.com/zwo-am5n-harmonic-drive-equatorial-mount-with-tripod) feels like the 7 might be overkill for me, but maybe the 5 is good? It has a 44lb capacity with counterweights, I'm just wondering if with the 11" SCT that will rather easily be exceeded when I start adding cameras, finder scopes, etc etc.

Finally, accessories - Fully open to recommendations, necessities, nice-to-haves, etc. Is there something I've forgotten or wasn't aware that I'll need? I think I'd have to grab some counterweights (or at least it seems likely to be given my knowledge), eventually I'll need a good camera, but right now if I got a big sct and an equatorial mount, what else would I need to use it? Do I need fans to help it cool down, at 11" I'd think so - can this be mitigated by setting it up in my yard around sunset? Do you guys have recommendations for finder scopes? I have a red-dot sight on my dob and it works well enough to find what I'm looking at but I hear people love the Telrad reflex finder. Do I need a specific type of finder scope in order to use star tracking? I have a bunch of eyepieces from my dob but they're all 1.25" and these SCT's mentioned above are 2", any particular adapters or is it hard to go wrong? I've seen plenty of videos on replacing the diagonal that comes with the telescope, do you have recommendations?

Thank you for reading the detail I'm sorry for the wall of text, I appreciate any and all input even if it's "don't write so much next time!"

Anyone of you bought a 10" Dobsonian, especially people around age 18-20? If yes how'd you manage to move the telescope to much darker places? Like I bought a 10" GSO and it's Incredible to Observe with , but handling it is Quite difficult... Anyone with same Experience? By the way this is the jupiter i captured , average seeing.