• Celestron EdgeHD: versatile telescope, many applications

    Celestron EdgeHD telescopes are the evolution of classic Schmidt-Cassegrains: not only they can be used in visual (unlike the SC, they are perfect also with very large apparent field of view eyepieces) and for planetary and lunar photography but, thanks to dedicated focal reducers, they are great instruments for long-exposure astrophotography. In this article…

  • Astrophotography camera for deep-sky: what to choose

    Choosing from various astrophotography camera for the deep-sky may seem complicated. In this article, through a series of practical examples, we will see how to choose astrophotography camera to record also the weakest details of galaxies, nebulae and star clusters through with long exposures (these camera are different from the…

  • Telescope mount, what to choose: left the SkyWatcher AZ-EQ5 mount head that is smaller and lighter than AZ-EQ6 to the right, but offering a lower load capacity.

    Telescope mount, what to choose

    Telescope mount, what to choose: “Power is nothing without control”, as stated by an advertisement, applies to telescopes as well, especially in astrophotography when taking long-exposure pictures of objects that are too faint to be seen. In fact, in order to take picture of celestial objects by using telescopes, it is…

  • Telescope for deep-sky astrophotography: SkyWatcher ESPRIT 120 ED apochromatic refractor with ESATTO 3"

    Telescope for astrophotography, what to choose.

    When we use a camera to take a normal picture, we can select the magnification which best suits the object of our image, switching from wide-angle shots (for example 20mm focal length) to higher magnification shots (for example 200mm focal length). This freedom of choice is not possible in astrophotography as,…

  • PLUS: Prima Luce Universal System

    PLUS is the system of dovetail bars and rings for telescopes designed by PrimaLuceLab in order to connect in a modular way telescopes and accessories in a stable manner and without flexures. All elements are made of high-strength aluminum, sandblasted, with high thickness red anodizing treatment. All PLUS elements are designed to…

  • A Backyard Observatory

    One of the higher ambitions of many amateur astronomers is to have a backyard observatory. Who has available a sky with not too high light pollution in fact would like to have his telescope already installed and ready to use, without the need to assemble all the components each time to observe or…

  • Autoguide flexures

    Autoguide flexures: the use of an autoguider to improve the tracking accuracy of the telescope mount not only requires a sensitive camera and a good guide telescope (or an off-axis guider) but also a properly machined mechanical system that is able of supporting it without problems or flexures.

  • PHD Guiding, free software for autoguide

    PHD Guiding is a free software among the most used for autoguiding since it’s very easy to use. In this tutorial we will explain how to set up this software using an Atik TITAN camera but the same steps can also be made using other autoguiding cameras.