Rekindling my interest in Astrophotography was perhaps the biggest contribution of the eVscope to my hobby. In a world that is increasingly bent on regression to chaos, there is something magical about looking up at the sky. For a while I have rented scope time from my friends at Deep Sky West , first in New Mexico and then in Chile. Last fall I started to assembly my own rig. Of all the myriad options being the techno-geek that I am, I found that the Primaluce Universe was my home!
Geography, weather and the realization that I just will not have the time or the physicality to assemble and disassemble a rig for each session made it clear that I will need a quasi-permanent solution to house my equipment in a ready to go state. While a dome would be ideal its aesthetics can be a hard sell to the family. My compromise solution was a pier which could house the mount permanently even in our harsh winters, and the ability to store the OTA and accessories as one piece when not in use for long periods.
Pier
My equipment, which I will describe below draws from the Primaluce and SkyWatcher lines where the mount and major moving parts are concerned. While there are many excellent pier options out there I am a big believer in things working out of the box. I therefore went with the Primaluce C82 Pier. At 82 cm this pier has everything I need. A robust physical design, leveling ability and a mount adapter for my AZEQ6 mount.
Concrete base
Not wanting to bolt the pier onto our patio, I decided to get a concrete pillar poured just outside my patio wall, near enough to patio seating and power for comfort and reach.
The concrete base is a 2 foot square that is sunk 4 feet deep and comes up 1 foot above the ground (which can still be several feet below our worst snowfalls :-)). I created a template for placement of threaded rods into the concrete. Based on the size of the three holes in the pier base which are marked as 16 mm in diameter a 5/8″-11 threaded rod works best. Pay attention to the orientation of the rods – the triangle formed by the three should point N. I used the PS Align Pro App on my phone to accurately locate the N celestial pole.
Mounting the Pier
Preparing the mount with adapter
Final Steps
The Mount
The Skywatcher AZEQ6 Telescope Mount is a high-quality and versatile equatorial mount designed to provide astronomers with a stable and precise platform for observing celestial objects. It is engineered to support medium to large telescopes, making it suitable for serious astrophotography and visual astronomy. An excellent review by Steve Richards is available here.
The AZEQ6 mount features a dual-axis equatorial design, combining the functionality of an equatorial mount with the convenience of an alt-azimuth mount. This unique configuration allows for smooth tracking of objects across the sky, both in the horizontal (azimuth) and vertical (altitude) axes. By employing a dual-axis system, the mount offers exceptional stability and tracking accuracy, minimizing vibrations and jitters that could compromise image quality during long-exposure photography.
The mount is constructed using robust materials, providing durability and stability during observation sessions. Equipped with precision stepper motors and encoders, the AZEQ6 offers accurate and reliable tracking capabilities. The motors allow for precise positioning of the telescope, enabling astronomers to easily locate and track celestial objects of interest. The encoders provide feedback to the mount’s computerized control system, ensuring accurate tracking even when manually repositioning the telescope.
The AZEQ6 mount includes a hand controller with an intuitive user interface, allowing astronomers to control the mount’s movements and access various tracking modes. It offers a wide range of slewing speeds, enabling swift and precise object navigation across the sky. Additionally, the mount features built-in GoTo functionality, which allows users to select an object from a database and have the mount automatically slew to the target.
This telescope mount is equipped with a heavy-duty counterweight system to balance the telescope’s weight and maintain stability during observation. It also offers a convenient built-in polar scope, facilitating accurate alignment with the celestial pole for precise tracking.
For my setup I am using the mount with a direct USB connection using the EQASCOM package as a driver.
The Scope
The Esprit 100ED Triplet Super Apochromatic Refractor is a high-quality astronomical telescope designed for astrophotography and visual observations.
The “ED” in the name stands for Extra-Low Dispersion, indicating that the telescope’s objective lens is designed to minimize chromatic aberration, which is a common issue in refractor telescopes. The “Triplet” refers to the three-element optical design of the objective lens, consisting of three lenses arranged in a specific configuration to correct for various optical distortions.
With a 100mm aperture (the diameter of the objective lens) and a focal length of 550mm, the Esprit 100ED provides a wide field of view, making it suitable for capturing celestial objects such as nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters. The “Super Apo” designation signifies that the telescope utilizes premium-quality glass and coatings, resulting in excellent color correction and high contrast images.
The Esprit 100ED is designed to be versatile and user-friendly. It features a robust construction with a dual-speed 2.7″ focuser, allowing for precise focusing and accommodating various astrophotography accessories. The telescope also includes a retractable dew shield to minimize the formation of dew on the lens during humid conditions.
Additionally, the Esprit 100ED is equipped with a dedicated field flattener, which ensures sharpness and even illumination across the entire field of view, making it well-suited for astrophotography applications.
Overall, the Esprit 100ED Triplet Super Apo Refractor is a high-performance telescope that combines excellent optics, sturdy construction, and user-friendly features, making it a popular choice among astrophotographers and astronomers.
Imaging Train
My imaging train consists of :
- Primaluce Essato 3″ Focuser
- Primaluce Arco 3 Rotator
- Skywatcher Field Flattener
- EFW 7 position 2″ Filter wheel.
- ZWO ASI 6200
Focuser
Camera : ASI 6200
Really good review particularly in terms of choosing exposure times and gains.