ETX-70 DeepSky... piggyback imaging... solar system... accessories... webcam

GALAXIES....OPEN+GLOBULARS....PNE+DIFFUSE NEB....QUASARS....NOVA+SNE....VARIABLES....SPECTRA

After a decade of my observatory mounted 300mm Meade Classic LX200 SCT, I've acquired the diminutive Meade 70mm aperture f/5 refractor with goto pointing and am enjoying the experience.   These images show the amazing stellar penetration and detail possible from such a small telescope aided by sensitive Starlight Xpress HX516 and MX916 monochrome CCD cameras now upgraded to superfast download USB2 reaching ~mag 12-13 in 10-20sec and mag 15 in 5 min exposure.  Visually I struggle to see mag 9-10 with this 'scope from my LP London garden. Typically NO FILTERS are used and recently the ETX-70 has been piggybacked on my LX200 for better tracking.  A homemade focal reducer doubles the field coverage to ~120'x90' fov.

Using Barlow lenses via a Meade #64ST adapter in the rear port my Canon 300D EOS DSLR has taken some acceptable lunar landscapes from a static telescope and afocal snaps of Sun, Mercury and Venus in daylight using a Fuji E550 held to the eyepiece. These images are a record of my progress over recent months.

Click ETX-70 THUMBNAILS BELOW or Meade LX200/DS2090/Schmidt pix here

text & images copyright Maurice Gavin - May 2007