Adapter for Orion SkyQuest XT8 telescope?

[Tony Printezis]

Hi all,


First many thanks for the very helpful answers! We didn't know that Orion actually had adapters, so we'll get in touch with them to get more information on whether the proposed adapters will work correctly on the XT8.

Obviously, no long exposures will be possible unless your friend has some kind of equatorial platform for his telescope.

That's right, his XT8 doesn't track. So, the question is: is it worth it? I'm sure that, even at ISO 1600, most faint stars will not be visible. On the other hand, close-ups of the moon should work out fine. Will we be able to take shots of any in-between subjects, like say Jupiter or Saturn? And what sort of exposures will we be limited to? 1/50sec? Faster?

seems likely to cause vignetting

I don't think this will be too much of a problem for dark sky shots!


Thanks again for the feedback and sorry for all the questions!


Tony

[Jon Ruyle]

That's right, his XT8 doesn't track. So, the question is: is it worth it? I'm sure that, even at ISO 1600, most faint stars will not be visible. On the other hand, close-ups of the moon should work out fine. Will we be able to take shots of any in-between subjects, like say Jupiter or Saturn? And what sort of exposures will we be limited to? 1/50sec? Faster?

I think the only possibilities are the moon, Jupiter, and Saturn. I've take pictures of the moon with a 12 1/2" f/5 dob and 2x barlow, which is almost three times the focal length of the XT8. I used 1/250 sec. Probably could have gotten away with longer, but I don't know exactly. It is likely that mount jiggle will be the limiting factor for shutter speed, not moving sky.


Which makes me wonder... will there be a balance issue with a heavy DSLR on a little xt8?


As to the question "is it worth it?", that depends on how much your friend wants to take pictures. I think it is worth a try, but it might not work (maybe you can't reach focus, or the thing will be impossible to balance, and there may be other unanticipated difficulties). Maybe the guys at the telescope store (astronomics, orion, or whoever) will have advice.

I don't think this will be too much of a problem for dark sky shots!

I don't think vignetting would be a problem for Jupiter or Saturn, but might be for the moon.

sorry for all the questions!

I don't think any one on this forum minds questions. At least I hope not- I've asked a million. []