Re: [APML]: Scotch Mount or Piggyback

["Paul Sterngold" <psterngold@hotmail.com>]

Hi Ted,

>I'm relatively new to astrophotography and this list so pardon me if
>this subject has been brought up and answered before   :-).

Welcome to the list!  I too am a relative newbie, both to the list and 
to astrophotography.

>I have seen so many good examples of deep sky / planet / galaxy photos
>out there on the web that I thought I would give it a try.   I have 
seen
>plans for easily built Scotch Mount / Barn Door drives so I am 
gathering
>up some parts to build one.    However, I was wondering abount some
>basic questions ....

You won't get any deep sky or galaxy photos unless you've got at least a 
300mm lens, which makes a Barn Door mount unsuitable.  Deep sky photos 
require a true equatorial mount with accurate drives and slow-motion 
correction abilities, along with either a guidescope or an off-axis 
guider and an illuminated reticle eyepiece.  It can be expensive and 
requires a lot of reading, as well as trial and error.

>3)  Would it be better just to build some sort of piggyback mount for 
my
>SCT?   If so, are there any good plans out there? 

If you've got an SCT, then you already own an excellent platform for 
piggyback astrophotography, which IMHO is the best way to break into the 
activity.  You don't need to build a barn door tracker, nor do you need 
to build a piggyback camera mount (PBCM) for your SCT, because Meade and 
Celestron sell them at reasonable cost; furthermore, plenty of used ones 
are listed in The Starry Messenger every month, or check out Astromart 
(www.astromart.com).

A good beginner's guide to astrophotography is provided in _The Backyard 
Observer's Guide_ by (darn, the names escape me at the moment).  The 
only thing you might need is an eyepiece with an illuminated reticle.  
These can be pricey, the two sources I mentioned above will probably 
have reasonably priced used ones offered.

Good luck!

Regards,
Paul Sterngold

___________________________________________
Check out my personal astronomy web site at
http://members.aol.com/PaulSt/homepage.html


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com