Astrofoundry Astrophotography

Scope

My imaging scope is a Takahashi TOA 130F refractor at F 7.7. I use a Takahashi .67 flattener for a 70mm image circle and a TOA reducer to to get down to F 5.76 with a 50 mm image circle. The 4" focuser is connected to a RoboFocus controller mounted on a BuyAstroArt bracket.

A new 16" A&M RC is on the way, click here for more info.

Mount

After 16 months with a Takahashi NJP Temma II I moved to a Software Bisque Paramount ME. The Paramount is permanently mounted on a Pier-Tech II pier and is connected to a computer in the house by an Icron Ranger USB extender. The TOA 130F is secured to the Paramount Versaplate by SoCal Astro rings and DUP plate. Camera rotation is handled by an AstroDon TAKometer.

Guiding

I use a remote SBIG guide head through a Takahashi FS-60C that is mounted on top of the TOA-130F. Using the remote guide head allows me easily find a guide star even when imaging with an Ha filter. With a 350 star ProTrack model in place I find that I can image unguided for 10 minutes and still have pinpoint stars.

Camera and Software

After 6 months of working with a SBIG ST 2000XCM camera I now use an SBIG STL 11000M with Astrodon Narrowband and LRGB filters.

I use CCD Autopilot 3.0 with The Sky 6 Professional for camera control and T-Point to fine tune the mount. Focusing is controlled by FocusMax, Image acquisition is through CCDSoft, Plate Solving is via PinPoint and processing is mainly through CCDInspector, CCDStack, and PhotoShop CS2 with occasional use of RegiStar and Ray Graylak's Sigma 11 (pre-beta).