Last night (28 Feb) the Sightron infini D50 f/10.8 refractor was used to photograph the 12.4-day moon. There were some thin cloud bands passing, but there was enough time to catch a clear shot. The camera used on the moon was the Olympus E-M5iii.
This morning (01 Mar), the D50 was used with a ZWO ASI294MC-Pro camera to photograph the sun. In addition to a front-mounted Baader solar filter, ND-0.9 and UV-IR-cut filters were also used.
Both of these shots were meant to test a new mounting arrangement for the D50 refractor. This scope ships with a 4-inch flush-mounted Vixen dovetail that works fine with the light-weight stock diagonal and eyepieces. However, when heavier accessories are attached, such as a camera or large eyepiece, balance becomes tricky because there is not enough forward movement available. The new arrangement consists of two More Blue 60-mm tube rings (from Astro Hutech) and PrimaLuceLab dual-sided Vixen-Arca-Swiss dovetails.
Sunspots are visible again after a stretch of several spotless days.
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| Moon photography setup. |
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| Solar photography setup. |
