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6 votes
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Hubble surveys huge spiral galaxy UGC 2885, 2.5 times wider than Milky Way and containing ten times as many stars
12 votes -
After redesigns, the finish line is in sight for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship
6 votes -
Purchasing an astrophotography mount
I do some astrophotography for fun in my spare time. I'd like to get into doing deep sky photography. In order to do that, I need a moving mount that can keep the camera aligned with the stars for...
I do some astrophotography for fun in my spare time. I'd like to get into doing deep sky photography. In order to do that, I need a moving mount that can keep the camera aligned with the stars for minutes to hours at a time. I'll be using (at least initially) a Canon 7D (original version) with Canon lenses rather than a telescope. I currently have a 200mm lens with 2x extender, which makes it 600mm equivalent on that body.
I'd like to know if others here have ever done this and what type of hardware they've used for the motor and mount? Prices seem to be all over the place and options vary greatly on different devices. For example, I see the following:
Sky-watcher EQM-35 - $623.00US - Seems pretty full-featured for the price, as it includes tripod, motorized mount, alignment scope, and database of astronomical objects.
Celestron Advanced VX Computerized Mount - $899.00US - Seems very similar to the above, but does not include a scope, but is ~$250 more
Orion AstroView EQ Mount & EQ-3M Motor Drive Kit - $269.99US - Like the first one, but without the scope and holds less weight, and no database of objects to look atI get the difference in price between the first and last, but not the middle one.
In any event, curious if anyone has used any of the above or any others and what their thoughts are on the quality of different brands, and anything I should be looking for or avoiding.
7 votes -
SpaceX drawing up plans for mobile gantry at launch pad 39A in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to vertically integrate U.S. spy satellites before launch
5 votes -
Animation of first crewed flight of Falcon 9 & Crew Dragon in 2020
7 votes -
Starliner in good shape after shortened test flight
6 votes -
SpaceX set for record-breaking 2020 manifest
5 votes -
Diving and driving on icy moons: One strategy for exploring Enceladus and Europa
3 votes -
Building a rocket is hard. But building a parachute is boggling.
7 votes -
Boeing's Starliner Capsule lands safely in New Mexico after OFT mission anomaly
8 votes -
How to escape a supernova: Stellar engines
7 votes -
Apple has secret team working on satellites to beam data to devices
5 votes -
Boeing's uncrewed Starliner capsule will be unable to reach ISS after post-launch malfunction
9 votes -
SpaceX has quietly—and retroactively—relicensed its photos out of the public domain
14 votes -
ESA's exoplanet mission Cheops (Characterising Exoplanet Satellite) has successfully launched
6 votes -
Starliner test flight passes launch readiness review
4 votes -
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has observed a new type of magnetic explosion on the Sun
6 votes -
Norway gives Sámi names to distant star and planet as part of the 100th anniversary of the International Astronomical Union
6 votes -
Why is the James-Webb space telescope taking so long?
7 votes -
The difference between aerodynamic and ballistic reentry
7 votes -
NASA approves December 20 Boeing Starliner test flight onboard an Atlas V to International Space Station
10 votes -
Are we ready for first contact?
5 votes -
NASA's OSIRIS-Rex team has officially selected the site on asteroid Bennu to collect a sample for return to Earth
8 votes -
What makes NASA's Artemis suit the best space suit yet?
3 votes -
A look at the differences between the Curiosity rover and Mars 2020, which will start exploring Mars' Jezero Crater for signs of life in 2021
12 votes -
Aerothermodynamics, or how scientists learned to survive re-entry
7 votes -
Falcon 9 cargo mission for NASA demonstrated long-duration coast required by US Air Force
5 votes -
SpaceX working on fix for Starlink satellites so they don’t disrupt astronomy
12 votes -
"Electron made it through wall! Solid telemetry all the way to sea level with a healthy stage. A massive step for recovery!!"
@peter_j_beck: Electron made it through wall! Solid telemetry all the way to sea level with a healthy stage. A massive step for recovery!!
12 votes -
New image of interstellar comet 2l/Borisov offers a close-up view and comparison to the size of Earth
5 votes -
Vikram lander crash site located using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera images
5 votes -
Europe gives space programs a big boost
8 votes -
How a meteorite ruined an Alabama woman's afternoon sixty-five years ago
9 votes -
A falling rocket booster just completely flattened a building in China
14 votes -
Two months after failed moon landing, India admits Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander crashed
4 votes -
That Starlink problem astronomers were worried about is totally happening
19 votes -
SpaceX Starship Mk. 1 fails during cryogenic loading test
15 votes -
1,000km cable to the stars - The Skyhook
15 votes -
SpaceX's Crew Dragon abort system aces ground test ahead of major launch
10 votes -
SpaceX has successfully launched another sixty Starlink satellites
14 votes -
Starlink is a very big deal
10 votes -
Space-grade CPUs: How do you send more computing power into space?
8 votes -
Neutron stars – The most extreme things that are not black holes
10 votes -
The July outage of the Galileo Global Navigation Satellite System - What went wrong and the problems behind it
8 votes -
SpaceX and Boeing still need a parachute that always works
6 votes -
Next generation electron booster on the pad for Rocket Lab’s tenth mission
5 votes -
Voyager 2 illuminates the boundary of interstellar space
9 votes -
Here's what we know the shadowy X-37B was up to during its record 780 days in space
7 votes -
The world’s largest 3D metal printer is churning out rockets
7 votes