Telescope Summary
This table gives the focal length and other key specifications for each telescope.
| Scope | Focal Length | Aperture Inches | Aperture MM | F | Weight Kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSO 8" RC | 1,625 | 8 | 203.2 | 8 | 7.5 * |
| ED127 (sold) | 950 | 5 | 127 | 7.5 | 9.97 |
| AT8IN | 800 | 8 | 200 | 4 | 9.8 |
| Maxvision MN152 (sold) | 740 | 6 | 152 | 4.8 | 6.9 |
| WO Megrez 72FD | 432 | 2.8 | 72 | 6 | 2.7 |
| AT12IN | 1200 | 12 | 300 | 4 | 20 |
| TOA130NS | 1000 | 5.1 | 130 | 7.7 | 10.5 |
* With 2" extension tube, OAG and guide camera attached
Previous scopes: Celestron Nexstar SE8
Camera Summary
The following table details the sensor and pixel size for each camera.
| Camera | Chip | Type | Sensor Size mm | Resolution | Pixel Size µm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikon D50 (retired) | Sony ICX413AQ | DX | 23.70 x 15.60 | 3,008 x 2,000 | 7.8 |
| QHY5 (retired) | Micron MT9M001 | 1/2 | 6.66 x 5.32 | 1,280 x 1,024 | 5.2 |
| Philips SPC900NC (retired) | Sony ICX098BQ | 1/4 | 4.6 x 3.97 | 659 x 494 | 5.6 |
| Canon 500D | APS-C | 22.3 x 14.9 | 4752 x 3168 | 4.7 | |
| QHY9 (retired) | KAF-8300 | 4/3 | 17.96 x 13.52 | 3326 x 2504 | 5.4 |
| STL-11000M C2 | KAI-11000M | Full frame | 36 x 24.7 | 4008 x 2672 | 9 |
| ZWO ASI120MM MINI | Aptina AR0130CS | 1/3 | 4.8 x 3.6 | 1280 × 960 | 3.75 |
Field of View
Field of view in degrees and arc minutes. Some of the data in this table was measures by Astrometry and the remainder was calculated from the approximation formula (source: Digital SLR Astrophotography by Michael A. Covington, page 59)
FOV (degrees) = 57.3 * Sensor Size (mm) / focal length (mm)
| Scope | Nikon D50 Arc Min |
QHY5 Arc Min |
Philips SPC900NC Arc Min | Canon 500D Arc Min |
QHY9 Arc Min |
STL-11000M Arc Min | STL Guider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSO 8" RC | 50.43 x 33.53 | 14.09 | 9.73 | 47.18 | 38.8 x 29.1 | 71 x 47* | 10.37 |
| AT12IN | 102 x 68* | ||||||
| AT8IN | 102 | 28.62 | 19.77 | 95.83 | 77.18 | 154.71 | 21.06 |
| ED127 | 84.71 x 56.33 | 24.10 | 16.65 | 80.70 | 65.00 | 126 x 85* | 17.73 |
| MN152 | 110.11 | 30.94 | 21.37 | 103.60 | 83.44 | 167.25 | 22.77 |
| Megrez | 188.61 | 53.00 | 36.61 | 177.47 | 142.93 | 286.50 | 39.00 |
Arcseconds per pixel
| Camera | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Nikon D50 | QHY5 | Philips SPC900NC | Canon 500D | QHY9 | STL-11000M | STL-11000M Guide Chip |
| GSO 8" RC | 1.00 | 0.66 | 0.89 | 0.60 | 0.69 | 1.14 | 0.95 |
| AT12IN | 1.60 | ||||||
| AT8IN | 2.03 | 1.34 | 1.80 | 1.21 | 1.39 | 2.32 | 1.92 |
| ED127 | 1.71 | 1.13 | 1.52 | 1.02 | 1.17 | 1.89* | 1.62 |
| MN152 | 2.20 | 1.45 | 1.95 | 1.31 | 1.51 | 2.50 | 2.08 |
| Megrez | 3.76 | 2.48 | 3.33 | 2.24 | 2.58 | 4.29 | 3.56 |
Skywatcher EQ6 Pro
This mount was purchased with astrophotography in mind. It is in fact a standard EQ6 that has had the stepper motors, board and hand controller upgraded. That's why it's black and not the standard white color.
The mount has 3 modifications since I purchased it.
The most significant one is to use EQMOD instead of the hand controller.
Secondly I have reduced the noise it was making while slewing.
The other modification was to change the dovetail attachment from a Vixen style to a Losmandy style.
Williams Optics Megrez 72 Doublet APO
I acquired this scope in September 2009. It's a very solid looking scope with beautiful CNC machines parts. I use this scope for imaging and guiding. The retractable dew shield does a great job keeping dew off the objective lens. As an imaging scope, I found that stars in the corners tended to be elongated, radiating out from the center of the image. This seems to have been fixed to a large degree by a Williams Optics 0.8 Reducer/Flattener II.
- Type : Refractor / APO doublet
- Aperture / F number : 72mm / F6