Nowadays CCD cameras are available to amateur
astronomers. You can obtain pictures in a really short time even under urban
skies. But there is a great disadvantage: most of the CCD chips are really
small, about. 6 x 8 mm. But you don't have to use chemistry and there is no
loss in sensitivity during long exposures.
Most of the pictures were obtained using the equipment
shown above, a 8" Meade LX200 equipped with a SBIG ST-6. The nominal focal
length is 2000 mm working at f/10. A focal reducer can be used to reduce the
focal length to about 1300 mm working at f/6.3. Another instrument used is the 60 cm Cassegrain at the observatory Hamburg-Bergedorf. Using a reducer helps to work at a focal length of about 4000 mm instead of the normal 9000 mm. An Apogee AP7p can be used at this telescope. All LRGB pictures were taken using the 500/2500mm Newton of the observatory Kirchheim. Here I used a SBIG ST-8. |