Information about astronomy accessories
Bill used the Benro Polaris tracking mount to get images of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. This post tells the story of the expedition. He also reviews the Polaris.
There are lots of different adapters available for all sorts of different jobs. PegasusAstro adapters have a consistent way of defining what’s on either ends, so you don’t end up scratching your head.
The Move Shoot Move wedge goes between a Nomad (or other) star tracker and your tripod. It allows you to polar align. This wedge is made from CNC aluminium and provides the smooth movements you need for precise alignment.
With a dome, you can simply open it up and begin imaging. But if you want to sleep as well, you need something keeping an eye on the weather so the dome will close if it’s about to rain. In this blog I’ve described a couple of gadgets that can do all that for you. I also talk about a couple of options to put the system together.
With a shutter release cable you can fire your camera remotely without touching it. They’re very useful in photography, especially macrophotography and astrophotography. They are available for a huge range of cameras. Choosing the correct shutter release cable for your camera can be difficult. Here is a list of available cables.
With the Australian Solar eclipse coming in 2028, it’s time to get familiar with solar telescopes. With Lunt telescopes you can see the surface of the Sun using white light, or Hydrogen alpha and Calcium-K filters. These all show different aspects of what’s happening there. If you want to photograph it as well, there are cameras for that too.
Mars opposition is in mid-January next year. But before that happens, Mars is going to enter retrograde motion, where it stops being overtaken by the background stars and starts overtaking them back. Retrograde motion stumped the ancient astronomers and had a hand in stimulating the rise of modern scientific thought.
Inspired by a video of an eclipse of Phobos, Bill wondered about the definitions of moons, planets and asteroids. Why are potato shapes important, and how did Phobos stop being one and start being another?
