I picked up a second hand Sky-Watcher Skymax 102 telescope recently on Astro buy and Sell website. I figured the 1300 mm focal length would allow me to try my hand at some planetary, lunar and solar imaging using the ZWO ASI120MM-S guide camera. A clear night with a high pressure... Read More

Finally a break in the clouds gave me the chance to capture comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) this evening. It was barely visible to the naked eye, but a nice sight in my 7×50 binoculars. Despite the low altitude and the glare from a full moon, the stack reveals the tail... Read More

I was out at dusk training for an upcoming marathon when I noticed the a big auroral display filling the sky. Pillars of reds and green were clearly visible, despite the glow form the setting sun. With 5k still to run, I set off as fast as I could to get back home and grab the... Read More

I’d been keeping my eyes glued to the aurora forecast eagerly awaiting the arrival of multiple X class CME’s from giant sunspot group AR 3664. The animation below shows the development of the gigantic structure as it made it’s way across the Sun’s surface.... Read More

First light with the new SpaceCat / RedCat 51 telescope was a tough choice. The wide 250mm field of view is perfect for capturing complete views of so many deep-sky objects. But with the Milky Way setting earlier now, the Veil nebula in Cygnus was the perfect choice. After a few... Read More

A couple of clear nights tempted me to improve upon my ‘first light‘ image for the ZenithStar 73 scope. Over 4x the integration helps to reveal much more definition in the familiar features of the North America Nebula. A bit of trailing can be seen in the stars, so... Read More

My best effort on the Great Orion nebula to date. Taken with the Zenithstar 73 telescope at 430mm/f5.9. The image is a big improvement over my recently captured image with the Tamron 100-400mm/f6.3. The new Optolong L-eNhance filter helped a lot with cutting out local light... Read More

Back in the late 1990’s I was a teenager in high school. Hung above the science department door was a big colour poster of the Horsehead Nebula. I have no doubt seeing this image every day inspired my lifelong passion for astronomy. Capturing the same image 25 years on... Read More

A recent run of clear nights gave a rare opportunity to image the gems of the winter sky. The Great Orion Nebula, the Horsehead & Flame and the Rosette nebula were all bagged over the past week. With these targets moving behind a local tree each night, I moved to imaging a... Read More

As every astrophotographer knows, the crystal clear nights you’ve been patiently waiting months for will always coincide with a big, bright full moon. Thankfully, this is one of the major bonuses of using a narrowband filter like the Optolong L-eNhance. It allows you to... Read More