New Astrophotography Equipment for KPO Phase 2
After an unbelievable wait, the new KPO Phase 2 technology refresh has finally started. Back on February 10th, I placed an order with High Point Scientific for the new astrophotography gear. Months went by… I was hoping to have the new cameras, filter wheel, and most importantly the ASIAir Pro automation controller, by the time that I went on my summer trip.
June came and went, and we headed off to New England on our yearly RV trip. While I was on the road, the equipment was finally delivered back in Florida. I didn’t get to open the box until mid-July when we finally returned.
A couple weeks went by while I was getting my farm whipped back into shape – the grass was a foot high!
But I finally got some time to open the box and to my relief, all the goodies had arrived, and nothing was missing.
I guess the delay was worth it; COVID had really bogged down the shipping process with ZWO in China, and the main ASI1600MM camera, filter wheel, and filter set was the holdup. 6 month delivery time. But this equipment is sweet and will revolutionize my astrophotography.
So here’s what has arrived:
ZWO ASIAir Pro imaging automation controller – This little wonder of a device replaces the external computer that has been so long a staple requirement in astrophotography. The ASIAir Pro provides a wireless interface to a dedicated app on an iPad or iPhone, to allow the complete control of all devices in the astrophotography kit.
The ASIAir Pro automates polar alignment, optical guiding, and can program complex imaging runs. The ASIAir also lets you determine sky position through a process called “plate solving”, which looks at the patterns of stars in an image and can determine the exact center position.
This will give me the ability to take images of a target over multiple nights, allowing for very long integration time / exposures, to get deep detail.
ZWO ASI1600MM CMOS Camera – this new camera will replace my DSLR cameras. With it’s 4/3 CMOS sensor and 3.8 micron sized pixels, this 16 MegaPixel camera will allow imaging of small deep sky objects.
ZWO ASI120MM-S CMOS Guiding Camera – this will be a big step up from the Orion StarShoot AutoGuider that I have been using. This camera is used to optically guide on a star while taking an image with the main camera, and it’s much more sensitive than my previous autoguider. It also doubles as a planetary camera and can deliver high speed video. This will be especially useful when the new 14″ Ritchey scope arrives.
ZWO EFW 8-Position Electronic Filter Wheel – this new addition will allow electronically controlled switching of 8 different filters. ZWO filters also came with the package: wideband Luminance (clear), Red, Green, Blue, and narrowband Hydrogen Alpha, Oxygen III, and Sulphur. I also received a Dark filter, which is opaque to not allow any light through – this is useful in taking automated dark frames (needed to remove noise from final mages).
The narrowband filters are exciting because they cut through virtually all light pollution, and also allow imaging of deep sky objects during periods when the moon is in the sky. This is a huge advantage, because now I won’t have to wait for the combination of a clear and moonless sky to image.
Learning Curve
It’s probably good that the shipment didn’t arrive before the trip because the learning curve on the ASIAir Pro controller is significant. While I’m waiting for the process of ordering the new IOptron mount and the 14″ Ritchey telescope optical tube assembly, I’ve used this new gear to revamp my current travel astrophotography kit, based on the little iOptron SmartEQ robotic mount. We’ll talk about that fun in my next post.