Hi Everyone,
Quite the inverse of Henk's "Medusa", this is one cute little guy!
Meet the Sharpstar 61 EDPH2.
Instead of spending 2k on a new ASI2600
MC Pro, I opted for a much smaller scope to use with my ASI533
MC Pro. The camera's small sensor opened up some new targets for my Explore Scientific ED102 triplet. Even with the Stellarview 0.8
FR/
FF at 571mm, the
fov is small enough to get decent images of smallish galaxies. But, for larger nebulae and galaxies (M31), no way without doing a mosaic. With sometimes only one clear night a month, mosaics are not a good choice for me!
Measuring in at about 12" in its current configuration, it kind of looks funny! The 50mm
RACI is about 1/3 the mass! I just might swap it out for a red dot.
The little scope is very similar to the Radian Raptor minus a few frills, but it really looks to be of very nice build quality. Super smooth focuser (2.5") and a nice clean feel.
Of course, the skies are clouded up with rain tonight, but I really am looking forward to mounting this little fellow on my Nexstar mount for some visual.
When the galaxy season is over, I will move my MMAG guider and ASI
EAF autofocus motor to the little guy to use for imaging. It comes with a 0.8
FR/
FF for a
fl of 268mm at f4.5.
Looking forward to using the ED102 for some visual!
Jim
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), ZWO OAG, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, ASI 220mm mini , IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut,
N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin:
https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/