The Starmaster 14.5"

The largest of the observatory's telescopes is the 14.5" Starmaster Newtonian telescope. This telescope is used not only for lunar research, but also for observing "deep sky" objects such as galaxies, star clusters, nebulae and other objects. Equipped with the Sky Engineering SkyCommander digital computer, it is capable of locating objects in the sky with pinpoint accuracy. The telescope uses a 2" eyepiece format, allowing use of the popular Nagler style eyepieces which give breath taking wide angle views of both the moon, planets and "deep sky" objects. This is also the main telescope used in the outreach program.

The Starmaster 8"

The second largest of the observatory's telescopes is the 8" Starmaster Newtonian telescope. This telescope is a dedicated lunar telescope, and is used in the occultation (stellar eclipse) research program. The telescope uses the 1¼" format eyepiece, since when trying to view stars close to the limb of the moon, the narrower field of views help reduce the glare caused by the moon's brightness. The telescope is small and compact and is easily transportable to remote observing sites to collect the data needed in this research program.Occasionally it will be used for the public outreach programs.

Orion 6" f12 Mak-Cassegrain

This telescope is the smallest owned by the observatory. It is small and compact and is used in the outreach program. It uses the 1¼" format eyepiece. A small video camera can be attached to the telescope to record images of the moon and planets. The telescope is also the only one used by the observatory to observe the sun by use of special filters attached to the front of the telescope. WARNING: Do not ever point your telescope at the sun. Permanent eye damage and severe burns are the result!

Celestron 9.25" SCT"

This telescope is the primary imaging telescope. It uses a crayford type focuser which can use both 1.25" and 2" formats including a very fine focusing mechanism for precise focus. The video camera can be attached to the telescope to record images of the moon and planets.

Additional Equipment

The picture shows some of the other equipment used at the observatory. The top left shows the iOptron CEM40 mount which is used to quide the 6" and 9.25" telescopes. The top right shows the Dell laptop which acquires the imaging from the cameras. It is USB3 equipped for fast download of data, which is store on the internal 500GB SSD drive and external 2TB external drive. The bottom left shows the ZWOASI 120MM-s mono camera for imaging the moon. The bottom right shows the ZWOASI 290MC for color imaging.