roth ritter•digital astrophotography


	My main imaging scope is a Celestron C11 Schmidt-Cassegrain (11", FL 2800 mm, ƒ/10) which is good for medium to high powered imaging. I’ve also made a number of modifications on this scope. For wide field photography, I use a Takahashi FS-78 APO refractor. The mount is a Losmandy G-11 German Equatorial with a few custom modifications, including a built-in laptop table. A SkyWalker II telescope control system has been installed on the G-11 for go-to capability (visit Astrometric Instruments for more information on their excellent SkyWalker go-to systems). Currently, I am using an ST-8XE (ABG and two stage cooling) CCD camera by SBIG. Also attached to the camera is the CFW-8 RGB color filter wheel and AO-7 adaptive optics unit which improves auto guiding at slow focal ratios by tilting a mirror with electromagnets that compensate for atmospheric distortions. I use an AO-7 focal reducer adapter made by Ted Agos which gives back about 1" of back focus and reduces vignetting. The three piece camera assembly is fitted into an Astro Physics large format visual back and locked down. A RoboFocus unit on the stock C11 knob takes care of autofocusing with FocusMax. For image post processing and camera control / acquisition I use MaxImDL. Photoshop of course is also an invaluable finishing tool.