70 refractor SolarQuest on Heliofind Mount

2 days ago

This image of Saturn shows a surprisingly large amount of detail for a small reflector and a DSLR, with the Cassini division in the rings clearly visible.

It was taken by Matt Williams using a Sky-Watcher 8" Newtonian reflector on a Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount and a Canon 600D camera.

A one minute recording was made and the best 90% of the frame stacked.

Thanks for sharing this Matt!

#saturn #skywatchertelescope #skywatcher #skywatcheraustralia #astrophotography #astro #canondslr #canon600d @canonaustralia #cassini #cassinidivision ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago

Julie Straayer posted her pic of the Moon to the Sky-Watcher Australia Facebook group yesterday. It was taken with a Sky-Watcher 180mm Mak, a Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ5 mount and using a mobile phone held over the eyepiece. From Julie:

"I had the privilege and the pleasure to use a superb Skywatcher 180mm maksutov on my AZEQ5 mount at a School Astronomy Night tonight. What a beautiful scope! Jupiter was brilliant even in low power and Saturn even though just above the horizon was me a dropping my beautiful. And what can I say about the Moon- just gorgeous!
The image is through my 2" GSO 50mm eyepiece and my phone was hand held.
I only cropped and rotated the image to give the correct view of the Moon. "

Thanks for sharing this lovely image Julie!

#moon #moonlight #lunar #lunarphotography #moonpics #skywatchertelescope #skywatcheraustralia #astrophotography #astro #mak #maksutov #smartphoneastrophotography ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago

Jupiter is now close to the Earth, visible all night and a great sight in binoculars or small telescope.

It's now visible as the brightest "star" in the sky and rising as it gets dark.

Have you seen it yet?

Jupiter is now at "opposition". This means it's at its closest to Earth.

You might have some news about today being the best day to see Jupiter. It is - but it will also be a spectacular sight for the rest of the cooler months so if you can't see it tonight don't panic. :) ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

Beautiful image of the Rho Ophiuchi region taken by Adam Williams using a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer mount and posted to the Sky-Watcher Australia Facebook group.

The dust clouds around Rho Ophiuchi form one of the closest star forming regions to the Earth at some 400 lightyears away.

This was Adam's first attempt at autoguiding too!

Details from Adam:

This was my first try at auto guiding even though only at 150mm just wanted a less stressful experience for my first go haha
Nikon D750
Sigma 150-500 @150mm
F/5
ISO 500
3min x 43
Darks-flats-bias
ZWO ASI 120mm
Orion 50mm scope
Stacked in DSS and edited in Photoshop

@sigmaphotoaustralia @nikonaustralia #skywatcheraustralia #skywatcher #staradventurer #nikond750 #astrophotography #astro #nightsky #deepsky #rhoophiuchi #nightscape #universetoday ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

A fine example of astrophotography skills improving with practice and learning!

Jim Mitzas posted these two images to the Sky-Watcher Australia Facebook group of the Orion Nebula (M42) taken some time apart with the same Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED refractor.

Jim says -

"Just thought I'd finish up with a reprocess of M42 Orion to show how far I've come in learning the tricks of the trade especially with SGP Plate Solving and better understanding of Pixinsight. Here's a link to the higher res tiff file.

First image was from late 2018 and was my first ever attempt of Orion. The 2nd is my most recent reprocess which represented improved data thanks to plate solving and taking bracketed exposures including 15s, 30s and 45s subs and using HDR composition tool to stop the core being blown out. I've definitely learned to be patient and persevere with this challenging and sometimes rewarding hobby."

Congrats Jim!

#skywatcheraustralia #skywatchertelescope #astrophotography #platesolve #pixinsight #astronomy #esprit #zwocamera #m42 #orionsbelt #observatory #deepsky #nightsky ... See MoreSee Less