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CAPTURING THE UNIVERSE
stoP the worlD. . .
camera mounted on a tripod. in a matter of
seconds, stars turn into streaks and deepsky
objects are smeared beyond recognition.
thankfully, there’s a solution. and, no, it
doesn’t require us to stop the world.
a tracking mount permits long-expoO
rotation.”)
and since the scope really isn’t
necessary in this setup, you can simply
remove it and attach your camera directly
to the equatorial head via a specialized
bracket. that way, there is less equipment
to deal with, and chances are, the mount
will be less prone to vibration thanks to the
reduced weight of the load it carries.
sure pictures that capture detail in deep-sky
objects and retain pinpoint stars. best of
all, you might already have a suitable
tracker. if you own an astronomical telescope
equipped with a motorized equatorial
mount, all you need to buy (or make)
is an inexpensive adapter to affix your camera
to your scope. With this arrangement,
you won’t be shooting through the telescope;
instead, your camera gets a piggyback
ride as the mount tracks the stars.
(note: a motorized altazimuthmount won’t
work, owing to an effect called “field
GEAR UP AND LOOK
the author’s ultraportab
astrophotography
setup consists of an
ioptron skytracker
camera mounted on
a lightweight travel
tripod, right. the
skytracker measures
just 153mm (6 inches)
on its longest dimension
and weighs only 1.2 kilog
(2.6 pounds). far right: th
ula (m42) is a perfect win
your first deep-sky astrop
ula is bright enough to b
with short exposures and
with just about any focal
for this shot, the author
70D Dslr at iso 3200 fo
exposure with a 70-200m
set to 200mm and f/4.
16 sKYnews • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
TRACKERS TO THE RESCUE
but what if you own a dobsonian or some
other instrument lacking an equatorial
mount? or what if your scope’s mount is
simply too big to pack off to a dark sky
location? you’re in luck. over the past few
years, a number of manufacturers have
introduced tracking platforms that allow
budding astrophotographers to enter the
world of long-exposure imaging without
the expense and bulk of a full-sized telescope
mount.
this new breed of tracker is designed
specifically to carry a camera, and
i think it represents the best deal in astronomical
equipment bar none. for roughly
the price of a good eyepiece (or camera
lens), you can choose an ioptron skytracker
(reviewed in the may/June 2013
issue), a vixen polarie (July/august 2012)
or a sky-Watcher star adventurer (november/december
2014). all three units
are very compact (not much bigger than
a paperback book), which makes them
ideal for travel. even the largest one fits
easily into a carry-on bag for your winter
vacation.
if you’re handy and want to tackle a diy
i wAnt to tAke A Photo!
A lightweight tracking mount counteracts the Earth’s rotation and opens up
a universe of photographic possibilities text and photography by tony Puerzer
ur planet’s rotation puts
us in a race against time when
we take astrophotos with a
project, visit SkyNews editor gary seronik’s
website (www.garyseronik.com) and have
a look at his nifty hinge tracker. gary has
provided detailed instructions and illustrations
to guide you through making your
own mount with basic hardware-store parts
and a few electronic components.
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