The Equipment

The Equipment

Scopes and mounts

Celestron 11 GPS (F10) (fork mount)
Orion ShortTube 80 used for guiding
Celestron equatorial wedge
Celestron CGEM DX (equatorial mount)

Guiding

Orion ShortTube 80 scope with Orion StarShoot Autoguider. Used when imaging at prime focus with the HyperStar.
Orion Deluxe Off-axis guider (OAG) with Orion StarShoot Autoguider. Used when imaging at cassegrain focus.

Imaging sensors

Orion StarShoot Autoguider. Used for guiding only.
Canon 350D (Rebel XT) Modified by replacing the original IR cut filter with a Baader BCF filter. This greatly increases imaging hydrogen alpha (HA) emission at 656nm, which is mostly cut by the original filter.

Optics

HyperStar 3. Used prime focus (front) producing a wide field F2 image
Celestron focal reducer (F6.3) used at Cassegrain focus
2" Eyepieces 9MM, 22MM, 35MM, 56MM and a diagonal
DGM "UHC" filter

Software

Nebulosity (Image capture and processing)
PHD Guiding
Photoshop CS5 (Image processing)_

Current setup: Celestron German Equatorial Mount (CGEM): Configuration for imaging at cassegrain focus (back). This uses a 6.3 focal reducer, off axis guider, guide camera, and then the Canon D350. The guide scope on top is not used in this configuration.; Configuration for imaging at prime focus (front). The secondary mirror is replaced with the HyperStar and the camera mounted on the HyperStar. Guiding via the scope on top.

Fork Mount on an Equatorial Wedge: Celestron 11 GPS fork mount on an equatorial wedge.; Configuration is HyperStar mounted at prime focus (front), Canon 350D (Rebel XT), Orion ShortTube 80 and Orion StarShoot AutoGuider.

Original Fork mount: Not a picture of the actual scope, but it is the same model and configuration.

: Canon 350 D (Rebel XT) IR filter replacement with Baader DSLR Filter