Here you will find a collection of astro images using various telescopes and cameras that
I've taken over the years. The images on film were taken in the 1990's and from 2006 onwards
using cooled CCD cameras. Most were taken on La Palma either from home or up at 8000ft
(2,300 metres) from the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos (ORM). Many images from 2013
onwards were taken using remote telescopes in SE Spain at Astrocamp (Nerpio).
Although I purchased my TELEVUE GENESIS 4" fluorite refractor in 1988, I didn't attempt
any serious astrophotography until 1994. Earlier attempts were somewhat disastrous due to
lack of experience in manually guiding the telescope or by simply holding my old COSINA
camera to the eyepiece and hoping for a result when taking photos of bright objects such as
the moon. The Cosina was also prone to jam occasionally and difficult to focus.
The situation improved considerably when I obtained an SBIG ST-4 autoguider and a NIKON
FM-2 camera body in the mid 1990's and also a Vixen 60mm f/11 guide scope. The ST-4
autoguider, although somewhat difficult to master in the beginning proved indispensable and
I've never manually guided a telescope since.
To move (albeit somewhat belatedly) with the times, in 2005 I purchased a Starlight Xpress
MX716 CCD camera and a TrueTech motorised filter wheel and a year later, an SXV autoguider
head with an SX USB-2 box. This allowed both the MX716 and SXV to communicate through a common
USB cable. In October 2010 I upgraded to an SXVR-H9 camera which the SXV autoguider head
connects to directly and more recently, an SX OAG unit to fit on to my TrueTech filter wheel
which I had to modify.
In 1997, I paid into a third share for a MEADE LX200 10" SCT. The reason being that this
bulky telescope would stay on La Palma with me so saving the huge expense in airport excess
baggage charges that the other shareholders (UK astrophotographers Nik Szymanek and Ian King)
had paid out on previous observing trips.
Since 2006, Nik, Ian (and John Evans, a regular visitor to La Palma) have left equipment with
me to look after to save them excess baggage charges. These include three Skywatcher EQ6
Pro GEM's, a William Optics ZS66 APO and an Ikharus F/7 102mm APO.