anyways…

i have a Celestron 6SE which I bought with the alt-az mount. I took it to Australia last August to shoot the Total lunar eclipse on 28th Aug. Transporting the entire setup in an aeroplane is a real big nightmare. first of all, Celestron doesn’t provide any carryon case for the OTA unlike Orion. I really hated that part when I spent US$999 and they didn’t even ship a basic 20 dollar carrying case. whatever. the main problem was with the tripod. its too big to fit into a 30 inch suitcase. I had to dismantle the legs and the base plate and finally barely managed to squeeze the entire thing into a suitcase.
I wonder if you use an equatorial mount and how you transport your entire setup in an aeroplane. I am mainly into eclipse photography and I am currently looking into the Orion table-top equatorial mount. I believe it can be mounted onto a sturdy camera tripod. what i am not able to figure out is if the Orion min-EQ mount can take on the weight of the OTA + the Canon 30D.
You’ve got a good blog going. looking forward to seeing some photographs of your astrophotography setup.
Cheers
Asterix

What you should do for astrophotography is to get a piggyback camera mount. It’s easier to mount a camera on the back of the telescope and then take some long exposures through a good, fast lens. Taking photos through the telescope itself is much more challenging and frustrating, because small errors have a big impact. However, piggyback astrophotography is much simpler. JMI Telescopes has piggyback adapters for the NexStar telescope series. I got one of those for my trip, and have been happiest with those photos. (I used a 100mm f/2.8 lens for my wide-field photos. Maybe not the best lens, but it is fast.)

You might also invest in a remote shutter-release for your camera so that you aren’t touching your camera when you take the photo. Any little vibration will affect the crispness of your photos. I use a remote shutter-release, and also use the camera’s timer and mirror pre-fire features, so that as little moves as possible when the photo is finally taken.

At this point, Ganesh, you should invest your money in books about astrophotography rather than attachments. Michael Covington has written some fantastic books about astrophotography.

With respect to the eye piece accessories kit, all online vendors offer a case as part of the kit, which I think simply adds to the cost of the kit. Are there any vendors who sell all the requisite eye pieces without the case?
Also, I want to purchase other telescope accessories for photography. There are so many accessories that are offered in the market. For me as a beginner, it is difficult to decide which ones I should purchase. For instance, is the ‘reducer-corrector’ a must? I am pretty much confused on what to buy and what not to. Can you give me some advice on the accessories that I should buy?

Thanks,

Ganesh

In general, when you pack a telescope, think about how the contents of your bag might move when it lands on a particular side or corner.

The laser viewfinder from the NexStar is a bit more fragile, so I wrapped that in a small piece of foam, put a couple of rubber bands around it, then put it in between the tripod’s legs. They form a decent cage for protecting small, long things. The viewfinder looks “scary” enough that I wouldn’t put it in carry-on luggage. I only take the optical-tube in carry-on luggage.

I wrapped the arm-mount of the telescope with some foam as well. I got some 2″-thick foam from a local fabric store that carries upholstering supplies. I cut one piece to go along the arm itself, and another piece to go under the base. I tied them on with string, to hold the foam to the shape of the arm. It takes some time to pack it all, but it seemed to protect everything quite well.

I should write up a special page about how I pack my telescope, along with pictures. At least so I can remember how I did it, for next time…

I am thinking of keeping eyepieces in the checking luggage? Did you keep them in the carry on luggage or in the check in luggage?

Thanks,

Ganesh

Thanks so much for your advice. I am going to purchase Jims Mobile Telescope Case for Celestron NexStar SE 4 and will keep the optical tube in that. I can only hope that the TSA guys will handle it with care.

Ganesh

I was also lucky in that I ended up with a relatively young guy screening my baggage, and he thought it was pretty cool to be taking a telescope with me. That can have an impact.

The X-rays will not harm the optical tube in any way. It’s just glass, metal and plastic; lots of glass, metal, and plastic goes through X-ray scanners all the time. The ride through in the plastic container certainly has the potential to scratch the outside of the tube, but if you tell the TSA that it’s fragile, they might help you there too. That is something you should probably accept if you are going to have a travel-scope; it’s going to get a bit of abuse.

As far as being jarred and shaken by the rollers, simply traveling on the airplane will be at least as likely to give the optical tube a few bumps. The main impact will be to put the telescope’s optics out of alignment. You should always take the necessary tools to collimate your telescope’s optics when you travel. (Probably in your checked luggage, since taking screwdrivers etc. in your carry-on luggage would probably be inadvisable.) Don’t think you can ignore the importance of aligning your optics; it’s good to practice this procedure and to regularly check your telescope’s alignment at the start of each observing session.

One other thing — I have heard it recommended that you should take the receipt for your telescope with you, so that you don’t run into duty charges when coming back into the USA. I didn’t have any trouble with that, but it’s always better to be prepared.

Anyway, each person is different, and you will have to decide for yourself if the risk is worth the reward. It is a bit of a gamble, but for me it was more than worth it, and a lot smoother than I initially expected.

I am going to purchase a Celestron NexStar telescope in the United States and want to take it to India. But I am very afraid to take it by plane. Your suggestion on keeping the tripod and the base in the check-in luggage is nice. As far as the optical tube is concerned, if I keep it in my carry on luggage, I still think it is very dangerous to do so. This is because during security checkup, the TSA will open my carry on luggage. When they will see the optical tube, they will remove it and put it in a ordinary plastic tray and pass it under the scanner. I dont know whether the scanner will harm the optical tube or not. If it does, then it is too dangerous. Also, once the plastic tray containing the optical tube comes out on the other side (of the security gate), it will pass over a very bumpy surface (consisting of evenly placed rods). As a result, the tray will rock and the optical tube may be damaged.
One option is to specifically tell TSA that the optical tube is a very fragile item and ask them not to place it under the scanner or atleast be gentle. But I have experienced that these guys are very rude and just dont care a damn. What is your experience? How did you do it?

Thanks,

Ganesh