I began this website and blog back in 2014. In my second post (11/17/2014), I described the SkyProdigy 130 as a good beginner telescope and mount for Remote Video Astronomy with StarSense Auto Align capability. Today the SkyProdigy 130 is currently selling for about $640. The Auto Align feature is great. In under 4 minutes after turning on the mount, it is aligned and ready for viewing!
I used my MallinCam Micro camera when I initially began using my SkyProdigy 130, which is still a good beginner video astronomy camera. Since I have recently been testing with my SkyProdigy mount, I decided to try using my advanced MallinCam DS2.3+ on the 130mm (5.1”) F5 Newtonian telescope that came with my SkyProdigy. The DS2.3+ has a 13.4mm chip with 5.86 pixel size at 1920x1200 resolution.
When I first put the DS2.3+ into the eyepiece holder on the 130 Newtonian, I found there was not enough inward travel to bring it into focus. I removed the DS2.3+, unscrewed the 1.25" eyepiece holder and realized I could screw on a T2 T to C Adapter in its place. I have a Solomark adapter I recently purchased on Amazon for $13, and screwed it on.
This allowed me to directly attach the DS2.3+ a bit little closer to the focuser, which I found later was just enough to enable me to achieve focus on the Newtonian.
I plugged my USB3 cable into the DS2.3+, secured the cable to the telescope, and I was ready to give it a try.
Since I had just changed from using my Celestron 5” telescope on the SkyProdigy Mount to using the 130mm telescope, the first thing I did after focusing that evening was to recalibrate the StarSense camera. Anytime you change telescopes you affect the geometry between the telescope and AutoAlign StarSense camera. By pointing the telescope to a bright star and selecting to calibrate the StarSense camera, it computes a new centering point, making GoTo’s more accurate. Whenever I Collimate my Newtonian, I find it also helps to recalibrate the StarSense because the center point may have shifted slightly, especially if you have adjusted both mirrors.
Like I described in my previous 10/28/2017 post, I used the SkyBT and SkySafari on an Android tablet to slew to targets. I should note that since the SkyProdigy is an entry level Alt-Az mount, you do have to be patient for a few seconds after slewing to an object while its tracking overcomes any backlash, thus eliminating star trails and stabilizing the image.
The DS2.3+ is a good match to the 130mm F5 Newtonian without any focal reducers. Here are some image captures (no post processing) with exposure set at 10 seconds, no filters. And this is near a city where sky glow is an issue. I had the histogram set at 50 for the upper end, with gain set at 25 and used a matching dark frame. I only adjusted the lower end for the histogram as needed to get a black background.
M11 Wild-Duck Cluster
Like I described in my previous 10/28/2017 post, I used the SkyBT and SkySafari on an Android tablet to slew to targets. I should note that since the SkyProdigy is an entry level Alt-Az mount, you do have to be patient for a few seconds after slewing to an object while its tracking overcomes any backlash, thus eliminating star trails and stabilizing the image.
The DS2.3+ is a good match to the 130mm F5 Newtonian without any focal reducers. Here are some image captures (no post processing) with exposure set at 10 seconds, no filters. And this is near a city where sky glow is an issue. I had the histogram set at 50 for the upper end, with gain set at 25 and used a matching dark frame. I only adjusted the lower end for the histogram as needed to get a black background.
M11 Wild-Duck Cluster
M27 Dumbbell Nebula
M45 Pleiades
M57 Ring Nebula
I liked how well the DS2.3+ worked with the 130mm Newtonian at F5 - just the camera and telescope - no reducers or filters. The chip size of the DS2.3+ worked nicely with it and provided a wide FOV.
RSS Feed