MnAstro Forums

Hello all, new member here!

Are any of the loaner scopes setup for imaging? Either with their own sensor, or attachments for BYO phone or DSLR camera? I'm itching to experiment and learn with astrophotography of planets and deep space objects; build up some hands-on experience with setup, capturing, processing, etc. I'm also watching the CGO forum for chances for some hands-on learning with imaging there, but it sounds like winter is not a great time of year to catch people there.

Right now I have a Nikon D3100, decent tripod with ball head, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 and 55-200mm kit lens, that I'm experimenting and learning with; made my first capture of Orion Nebula this morning. I hope to get competent with the basics of capturing, calibrating, stacking, etc with what I have. Nothing beats hands-on experience though, for deciding if investing in scopes, trackers, etc, would be worth it to me.

Thanks!
Sincerely,
Ryan

Hello Ryan,

None of the loaner scopes are "set up" for imaging, though a few could probably be converted to do some basic imaging.

You should defintely consider getting trained on the club's imaging rig at Cherry Grove Observatory. It is designed precisely for people like you who are interested in learning how go image but don't have the gear. All you need to bring is a memory stick. We have a Planewave 12.5" and a Takahashi refractor set up for easy use.

Suresh

Good to know Suresh, thanks!

Should I just watch the CGO forum and event schedule for training opportunities, or should I be submitting a request for that?

Yes, watch the CGO forum. I will be posting the next training session there. It will likely not be until Spring. In the meantime I hope to have some zoom sessions where the imagers within MAS can answer questions from those wanting to get into astrophotography or better their skills. Over the last couple of years I have been presenting a class on one of the processing tools (PixInsight). I make the data available. When it comes up you could grab that data and do some of your own processing.

Doug N.