Equipment and Software

Astrophotography requires numerous items of specialised equipment in order to construct an imaging setup capable of capturing images of deep space with very long exposures of several minutes. For this reason, this section is divided into sub-pages, each dedicated to a particular component or set of components of the imaging setup. 

The mount is the fundamental basis of an imaging setup and forms perhaps the most important component as everything is literally mounted on to it. The mount also provides the tracking of your object as it moves across the night sky. The telescope and camera form most of the optical system that focuses the light and captures it in an image. Different telescopes and different cameras are differently suited according to their properties and therefore the choice can be difficult. The optical system is completed with a choice of filters, blocking certain wavelengths of light and allowing others through (for multiple purposes). Mounts can only track your object so well and this may be suitable to certain exposure lengths, but perhaps not for your planned exposures. For this we consider the autoguiding system, correcting your mount's tracking in real-time. Last but not least, everything must tie together in a control centre (a laptop), and there is software for anything and everything we need. Finally, there are other considerations to be made, including that of focus masks to aid in precise focusing. 

All this and more is covered extensively in the sub-pages of this section. Please read at your pleasure and check back for updates. The aim of it all is to provide the reader with a good grounding in what entails astrophotography through a telescope. Ultimately this aims to afford the reader with an informed decision on what equipment to purchase. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Courses will be provided in order to instruct users in the use of said equipment for professional-quality astrophotography.