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ASTROIMAGING
One of the first questions most people have about their new telescope is “How can I take images with it?”. Your telescope is
capable of imaging the Moon and planets, but deep-sky objects would require a more advanced telescope and mount with
finely geared motorized tracking. There are a few different methods for using your telescope for imaging:
•
Smart Devices or Point-and-Shoot Cameras-
This is the easiest and most straight forward method and works well
for images of the Moon and planets. Simply hold your device’s camera up to the eyepiece and take the image. While you
can use this with any eyepiece, it is generally easier to get an image using a lower power (longer focal length) eyepiece.
You will need a steady hand to hold the phone to the eyepiece but you can get good results.
•
DSLR-
Celestron offers adapters that will allow you to attach a Canon or Nikon DSLR body to the telescope in place
of the eyepiece. You would be effectively using your telescope as a telephoto lens. This will require a T-adapter for the
telescope and a T-ring for the camera body. For more information on the adapters for your specific model of telescope,
please go to www.celestron.com.
•
CMOS Planetary Imagers-
These are specialized cameras that replace the eyepiece in your telescope. It would connect
to your laptop via a USB port. The camera records video of the planet, then the included software breaks up the video file
into individual still frames. The software then combines the individual frames into a single image that contains more detail
than was visible in any single frame. This method will provide you the best possible lunar and planetary images, but does
require that you have a laptop at the scope. For more information on the planetary camera, please go to www.celestron.com.
DEEP-SKY OBSERVING EQUIPMENT
There are some tools that will be indispensable to you for identifying and locating deep-sky objects:
•
Red Flashlight-
This is an essential tool for deep-sky astronomy for reading finder charts or star atlases. In order to see
the faint light coming from distant objects like nebulae or galaxies, your eyes must be fully dark adapted with your irises
open to the fullest extent to let the most light from your telescope into them. White light from a standard flashlight will
causes your eye’s irises to close down and it can take up to a half-hour for your eyes to return to full dark adaptation. Red
lights do not have the same effect. We recommend any red LED flashlight that has adjustable brightness output, because
even red light, if excessively bright can affect your night vision. These are available through most telescope retailers but
can also be found in camping and hardware stores.
•
Planisphere-
A planisphere is a special circular star map that will show you the rough placement of constellations over
your head, so you can navigate your way across the sky. Unlike charts you can print online, planispheres are good for
any time of year, not just the date or month you printed it for. The planisphere consists of two round disks joined at the
center. The bottom disk has a map of the constellations while the top disk has a window cut into it out showing a portion
of the sky map. By turning the inner and outer disks to match your specific date and time, the map will display only those
constellations visible to you at that time. This is handy for finding rough locations of bright stars and constellations.
Planispheres are available through book stores and are available for a number of geographical latitudes in the Northern or
Southern Hemispheres. Be sure to pick one that is designed for your location. To get more detailed information on where
deep-sky objects reside within constellations you will need a Star Atlas.
•
Star Atlas-
Star atlases are the roadmaps of the sky. Once you have located a constellation with your planisphere, the
Star Atlas will show you a detailed, close-up view of that region of sky showing the stars and deep-sky objects that reside
in it. These are available through many telescope retailers or bookstores.
•
Apps and Programs-
There are many applications available for a smartphone or tablet that can take the place of the
planisphere and star maps. These will give digital representations of the night sky on your device, allowing you to go from
a wide view to a zoomed-in view with a touch of the screen. These can be downloaded or purchased from your application
store, depending on your platform. There are also some great astronomical sky simulation programs available for your
computer that will show you very detailed star maps on screen and can help you plan an observing session before you
get outside with printable star maps customized for your date, location and time.
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