My equipment

For many years I used only a pair of binoculars. They are more than adequate for beginners. Some comet hunters use nothing but binoculars. Today I have a computer controlled Meade Schmidt Newtonian reflector with a 10-inch main mirror. I either observe or image through the eyepiece or piggy-back my digital camera to the main body of the telescope.

My laptop computer has star maps. I can click on any object on the map an the telescope will slew to the object in the sky. Images can be taken with my camera and processed using stacking software and Paint Shop Pro for final processing. I also have software for controlling my camera and a webcam imager.

I will write individual articles on each piece of equipment.