Re: [APML]: Scotch Mount or Piggyback

[Mike Regish <mregish@map.com>]

> You won't get any deep sky or galaxy photos unless you've got at least
> a
> 300mm lens,

Got to disagree with that. You can get nebulae and open clusters with a
50mm lens. I think M31 will show up with a 50mm. You can get the North
America Nebula and all the nebulosity in Cygnus, our own Milky Way and
several nebulae and clusters in Saggitarius, etc.-all with a 50mm lens.
I got M101 with a 135mm lens (cost $30) that show spiral structure. M31
shows up pretty good with it too.

> >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.

I agree with that, provided the SCT has a clock drive. Learn some basic
polar alignment, get a piggyback adapter, and a 500mm lens will frame a
large number of constellations. It will also show enough "faint fuzzies"
to point you in the right direction with your scope. You can make your
own star charts that are probably better than any you can buy, as far as
accuracy and readability.