wpo - My Meade ETX-70AT +Autostar  Solar System imaging

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

After a decade of my observatory mounted 30cm 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 are a record of my progress over recent months.

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COMETS: Comet c/2007 E1 Garrard [May 07]; Comet C/2006 CZ13 'high'in Draco in triple exposure [July 07]; Comet Loneos in bright twilight [Oct 07] and Comet Tuttle in Nov/Dec/07 Jan/08.

C/Tuttle+FR C/Tuttle+FR C/Tuttle+FR

C/Loneos C/C2006CZ13 C/C2007e1

October 2007 saw the fantastic 'mega-explosion' of C/17P Holmes from mag 17 to mag 3 over two days and overhead by midnight in Perseus expanding daily [one shot via 30cm SCT for comparison] but fading near Mirphak from naked eye visibility from London suburbs as it expanded by mid Nov 07 - by late December it exceeded a degree across needing a homemade focal reducer on the ETX-70 to contain it on the SXMX9 CCD field.

C/Holmes+FR C/Holmes etx+fr

C/Holmes colour spectrum C/Holmes+FR C/Holmes+FR C/Holmes+FR

C/Holmes+Mirphak C/Holmes+Mirphak C/Holmes+Mirphak C/Holmes+Mirphak C/Holmes C/Holmes C/Holmes C/Holmes+Mirphak C/Holmes C/Holmes C/Holmes C/Holmes C/Holmes sequence

C/Holmes C/Holmes C/Holmes C/Holmes v 30cm SCT

VENUS IN DAYLIGHT:The reducing phase of Venus summer 2007 captured with Fuji E550 camera handheld to eyepiece of the ETX-70.  Mercury's tiny disk also amazingly viewed and recorded in daylight via the ETX goto!

VENUS morning star

VENUS VENUS VENUS VENUS VENUS VENUS VENUS VENUS VENUS

THE GIBBOUS MOON: captured via SX CCD and Meade x3 and X6 Barlows plus shots via the homemade focal reducer.

moon+x3Barlow 4 frame montage moon x6Barlow+ mars same scale moon+FR+Barlow Moon x3Barlow Moon x3Barlow Moon x3Barlow Moon x3Barlow Moon +FR Moon +FR

THE SUN+MOON: captured with Canon 300D DSLR at prime focus of ETX-70 and also with tele-extenders [Barlows] to increase fl to 700mm and 1400mm and digicam afocal to eyepiece. Webcam also used to include Saturn.

Sun MOON test MOON MOON MOON MOON MOON MOON MOON MOON MOON MOON Earthshine [green channel]

MARS:widefield etc via the ETX-70 + SX CCD + FR/Barlow.

Mars Gem starfield Mars starfield via FR

URANUS,NEPTUNE,PLUTO+ASTEROIDS:captured low down in Oph and Sgr with the ETX-70 + SX CCD.

uranus

neptune 3D URANUS neptune

URANUS NEPTUNE Pluto Pluto

MINOR PLANETS+PLANETARY SATELLITES:captured with the ETX-70 + SX CCD - more recently piggybacked on Meade LX200.

saturn's brighter sats saturn's brighter sats v DSI CCD saturn's brighter sats MP1 ceres x2 over 1hr MP1 ceres x2 over 1hr

MP1 ceres+15 eunomia MP349 Demowska MP349 Demowska MP10 MP12 Victoria MP26 Proserpise

Vesta+Metis Vesta Vesta
text & images copyright Maurice Gavin - May 2007 Visitor Counter by Digits