Equipment

Buying our first house towards the end of last year was the catalyst for getting back into observing. For the first time in years I have a garden that I can set up in. Plus the cost of some new equipment was less scary when compared to the deposit for the house.

It was a pretty easy decision to buy a Meade LX90. I'd used a Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope at university and always found it a pleasure to observe with. My only real decisions were what aperture and whether to get the ACF (coma-free) version. In the end I settled on 8" for portability and non-ACF since I don't see coma greatly affecting my backyard/solar system based observations. Five months later I am convinced that I made the right choice.

Of course the telescope is only half the story. For a starter set of eyepieces and filters I bought the Revelation Photo-Visual Eyepiece and Filter Kit from Telescope House. This has 5 Plossl eyepieces ranging from 9mm to 32mm, a 2x Barlow, a moon filter, 4 planetary filters and a camera adapter. I also invested in a new diagonal (also by Revelation) since the one supplied with the LX90 isn't brilliant (although it is useful during imaging sessions due to it being easier to attach). A power-supply, red torch and a dew-shield complete my list of initial purchases.

For astro-imaging I've gone down the webcam route. Digital SLRs are too expensive and don't seem to offer anything more when it comes to solar system imaging. I have some experience with manual SLRs and would like to use one in the future but for now I want something quick and easy.

Based on recommendations from most of the websites I consulted, I managed to track down a secondhand Philips SPC900NC webcam on Amazon. It was easy to download the drivers and other software from the Philips website and I bought a webcam adaptor from Telescope House. I also bought an IR/UV filter to remove the haze that can appear on digital images. Now I just need to work out how to use all this stuff!