A few shots from Sky's the Limit

Along with doing some astronomy outreach at Sky's the Limit, on February 7, 2026, I also took some astrophotographs.

I have long-owned a 152mm Explore Scientific triplet, which I have used for sharp, color-free views of the moon and planets. The focal reducer/field flatner for this telescope was somewhere up over $500, with tax, however, so I never felt tempted to buy one. However, it recently went on sale for $300 (plus tax). Still not cheap, but no longer extravagently so. That, plus my middling level of success with my 80mm setup, persuaded me that I could spend an additional $300 to see if I take astrophotograph with the 152mm, at least for brighter, larger objects.

I think they might be clearing out their stock of a lot of items, including the 152mm triplet and associated accessories, because they have been aggressively cutting prices. The current price on the 152mm triplet is just a bit more than half of what I paid for my telescope, about twelve years ago.

The focal reducer yields a focal length of about 850, with an f/5.6 focal ratio. So same "speed" as my 80mm setup, but with almost twice the focal length. It's also a lot longer and heavier, however, so I wasn't sure if, even on my Orion Atlas mount, that would be steady enough. The answer seems to be, not really. Even a little wind and you get streaky stars. But, keeping the exposures really short (10-20 seconds), and with ridiculously high iso speeds on my Nikon D780, you could get something at least recognizable. I mean, I'm not going to win any astrophography awards, but, as with a lot in my life, I do it because I enjoy it, and not to win awards.

The increase in satellites orbiting the earth is obvious, and I've got plenty, crossing Orion, at least. Orion is near the "celestial equator," and where satellites in geostationary orbits are parked. They show up as streaks because the telescope is tracking to compensate for the earth's rotation, slowly slewing to the west. That makes the satellites appear to move east, relative to the stars.

My targets were the Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33), the Pleiades (M42), and the Orion Nebula (M45). The results, for me, at least, were not hopeless. I'll keep fiddling around with this set up, and I'm willing to try it out on things like brighter comets and what not, similar to what I've been doing with my 80mm, but with a bit more magnification. So, depending on how (apparently) large the object is, and the weather conditions, I may use this setup in future, or stick with my 80mm setup. The latter is a lot quicker and easier to setup, and more resistent to wind.