180mm – DROGENBERG

9th May 202211th May 2022

Lunar mosaic

Taken with the Maksutov 180mm F/15 & ASI174MM camera.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Cassini ASI290MM @15FPS 3000FRAMES 40%stacked fullres

Cassini ASI174MM @80FPS 3000frames 40% stacked fullres

These two images of Cassini and Aristilus compare the ASI290MM and the ASI174MM on the same conditions, on the same telescope. The details seem to be really the same, allthough the image scale of the ASI290 is much more enlarged, it does not necessarily show more details. The Frame rate of the 174MM was a lot higher.

I guess the real test would be to do this exercise with a barlow in front of the ASI174MM. A éX barlow would enlarge the image scale, and at the same time the frame rate would still be 40FPS compared to 15fps for the ASI290MM.

17th May 201917th May 2019

The return of the big Mak

I purchased a brand new SkyWatcher Maksutov back in 2010, as a first scope after many many years of inactivity. Eventually I sold it to replace it with the C11.

However, the sharp and crisp planetary and Moon images, the great visual experience of this scope, the stability of the collimation, kept on haunting my scope addiction.

So it was a great day yesterday when I could re-purchase the same scope after 9 years.