Equipment

Celestron Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph

Celestron’s 280mm (11-inch) aperture f/2.2 Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph (RASA) is capable of blisteringly fast photographic speeds, capturing images of nebulae and galaxies in seconds. An imaging system optimised for virtually any one-shot colour CCD or DSLR in existence, Ade Ashford appraises this photon-grabbing wonder in the context of evolving optical systems.

Equipment

Astro-Video Systems DSO-1 camera

Are you looking for something to bring the wow factor back to your public viewing sessions, or a means to observe in comfort out of the cold? The sub-£100 Astro-Video Systems DSO-1 camera promises near realtime colour imaging of deep-sky objects and high-resolution planetary imaging with modest telescopes. Does it deliver? Ade Ashford finds out.

Observing

Photographing Pluto from the UK

Did you use our observing guide to view or image Pluto? Following New Horizons’ historic flyby, one budding astrophotographer living in a light-polluted UK town fulfils a long-time ambition to capture Pluto for himself.