Equipment

The StellaMira 90mm f/6 ED Triplet refractor is designed for the discerning astrophotographer or astronomer, so it has a minimum 0.95 Strehl.

Fully multicoated triplet optics, with an ED lens equal to FPL-53, deliver high-contrast views with very low chromatic aberration.

The sturdy 2.5" Rack & Pinion dual-speed focuser with 1:10 fine focusing and integral rotator, provides excellent load-bearing capacity and precise focus adjustments.

CNC-machined aluminium fittings and Carbon Fibre tube provide high strength and excellent thermal properties.

We include the matched 0.8x reducer/flattener that enables astrophotography at f/4.8 with an evenly illuminated imaging circle large enough for sensor sizes up to and including APS-C.

The iOptron CEM40 is a remarkably capable, centre-balanced equatorial mount. The compact design and high payload makes it a perfect choice for the StellaMira 90mm refractor.

The CEM40 features ultra-quiet, low-power stepper motors for precise pointing and tracking.

In our experience the CEM40 mount has proven itself very reliable in remote operation with low periodic error, strong mechanics and reliable electronics.

We carefully polar align each mount and pre-configure the drivers for you so everything will be setup ready to go!

The main imaging camera is a ZWO 2600 mono or colour camera - you decide!

The highly sensitive Sony IMX571 APS-C sensor uses the latest Sony back-illuminated technology. The sensor is super sensitive, 16-bit with a high dynamic range and very low readout noise and best of all - no amp-glow!

The camera offers cooling down to 35ºc below ambient - we typically recommend setting it to -10ºc which has worked reliably for us all year round in Spain.

The scope is fitted with a ZWO off-axis guider fitted with a ZWO ASI120 Mono guide camera.

This combination gives excellent guiding results and works very well with the telescope and mount choice.

We carry out the initial PHD guiding calibration and setup for you so all you need to do is pick your targets and start imaging!

The filters depend on whether you opt for a mono or colour setup.

Mono setups are fitted with a ZWO 7x36mm electronic filter wheel fitted with Antlia 36mm LRGB and 3nm ultra-narrowband Ha, SII and OIII filters.

Colour setups are fitted with a ZWO 5x2” electronic filter wheel fitted with 2” Optolong L-Pro, L-eNhance, L-eXtreme, L-Ultimate and Antlia ALP-T filters.

We use high quality Lynx Astro power cables throughout and Lindy USB cables.

For power control each setup has a HitecAstro Mount Hub Pro (MHP) with power being supplied by a Nevada power supply with a UPS battery backup.

Should you need it, each scope also has a Lynx Astro dew strap also controlled by the MHP.

The UPS is there to protect against power surges or short power cuts and to provide time for a graceful shutdown in the event of a longer power cut.

Each telescope is fitted with a DeepSkyDad flip-flat device.

This keeps the optics clean as the shutter closes when not in use.

The flip-flat can also be used to create flat calibration files automatically.

Focus control is provided via a ZWO EAF - a great match for the imaging train and R&P focuser on the telescope.

Each setup has a dedicated Beelink GKmini Mini PC running Windows 10 or 11 Pro versions.

These contain an Intel Gemini Lake J4125 quad-core processor with 8GB DDR4 memory and a 256GB SSD drive.

These mini PC’s are small but pack a lot of power so are great for remote astrophotography.

Each is connected to a local area network with high speed internet access.

We carefully configure each machine to avoid automatic windows updates!