Pier - 5

Telescope & Camera

The Epsilon 180 is a blisteringly fast F2.8 corrected newtonian astrograph that was designed for DSLR cameras, whilst it works very well that way we think the new generation CMOS cooled cameras are a far better combination. At 500mm FL this is the perfect telescope for big nebular and larger galaxies. This is a good scope if you want a lot of quality data fast and don’t want the complexity of mono imaging etc.

The ZWO ASI-2400MC Pro Colour CMOS is one of Sony's new generation zero ampglow sensors. They are super sensitive with very low noise. Making them a paradym shift from the CCD cameras we are all used to using and require much shorter exposures. This camera is set to Gain 150 as our default.

We have also fitted it with some modern type Dual/Triband fiters designed for OSC cameras - see below!

Pier-5 is a very fast F/2.8 when used with a CMOS sensor, the longest exposure needed for this pier is 180 seconds

Filter Characteristics

Baader SWAN Comet Filter -

The Baader C2 SWAN-Band-Filter with ≤ 15 nm Half-Band-Width isolates the two C2 lines at 511 and 514nm. Making it ideal for a Comet's tails whilst eliminating O3 from the signal.

IDAS LPS-D3 Filter -

The IDAS LPS-D3 filters enhance the contrast of astronomical emission nebulae against a sky with both man-made and natural* sky glow sources, yet preserve the colour balance of broadband objects such as galaxies. As with other IDAS interference filters, the bandpasses are designed to accommodate the steep ray angles of fast optical systems.

Askar Colourmagic HA/OIII & SII/OIII 6nm -

The filter enables the capture of the three main emission nebulae bands using two different filters, whilst suppressing unwanted light pollution. It enables you to capture cleaner data and reduces the post-processing efforts to isolate faint details from the background light pollution

Recommended Sub Lengths

Filter	Bright	Dim
OSC	30-60s	60-120s
Baader Swan Comet Filter	10-30s	30-60s
IDAS - LPS-D3 RGB Filter	30-120s	120-180s
Askar Colour Magic HA/OIII 6nm	60-120s	120-180s
Askar Colour Magic SII/OIII 6nm	60-120s	120-180s

Calibration Files

This pier has a FREE calibration library, this includes a dark library that correlates to the most common subs lengths used, see below

10s Darks
20s Darks
30s Darks
45s Darks
60s Darks
90s Darks
120s Darks
180s Darks
Bias Frames
Flat Frames

Latest Images Inside the Observatory

Pier Equipment

Telescope	Takahashi Epsilon 180 F/2.8 Astrograph
Mount	Paramount MX
Camera	ZWO ASI 2400MC Pro Colour CMOS 35mm Sensor
Filter Wheel	ZWO 5 Position 2"
Filters	See Below
Guide Camera	N/A
Guider	N/A
Focuser	Moonlite Stepper Motor
Power & Dew Control	Mount Hub pro V4