My observatory is a 10′ x 14′ roll off roof observatory.
Here is a list of what I use to do Astrophotography within the observatory:
Mount and optics
- Orion Atlas EQ-G, pier-mounted, driven via EQDIR cable through GS Server (not EQMOD)
- Sky-Watcher Evostar Black Diamond 120mm ED APO refractor
- 0.85x reducer/flattener → 765mm effective focal length (900mm native)
Imaging train (55mm backfocus budget)
- ZWO CAA rotator — 16.5mm
- ~12.5mm spacers
- ZWO EFW, 5-position 2″ — 20mm
- ZWO ASI294MC Pro, cooled colour, IMX294 — 6.5mm
- ZWO EAF focuser, with filter offsets trained in NINA
- Imaging scale: 1.25″/pixel
Filters
- Antlia ALP-T dual-band
- Antlia Quad Band
Guiding
- Orion ShortTube 80, 400mm f/5
- ZWO ASI174MM Mini, mono, IMX249, 5.86 µm pixels → ~3.0″/pixel in PHD2
Power and environment
- Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Advance on a dedicated 12V/10A supply, Auto-Dew enabled on the RCA ports
- Starfield DH-4 and DH-6 dew heaters
- TeSeek Gemini Field 150mm flat panel (ASCOM CoverCalibrator), manual placement via NINA Message Box
Observatory
- 10×14 ft roll-off roof
- Aleko AR2750 gate opener driving the roof
- Lunatico Dragonfly v2.0 DIN relay controller
- AAG CloudWatcher safety monitor
- Hydreon RG-9 rain sensor
Control
- MeLE Quieter 4C N150, 16GB/512GB, Windows 11 Pro
- NINA with Advanced Sequencer, Advanced API plugin, Stellarium link
- ASTAP with D50 database for plate solving
- PHD2, multi-star guiding, pulse guiding through the ASCOM driver
- Touch’N’Stars for mobile, Tailscale for remote access
Typical acquisition parameters
- Gain 200, 300s subs, cooler at −10°C year-round
- Calibration: matched darks, flats, and flat-darks only — no bias frames, per IMX294 behaviour
- Flats at gain 200 with a ≥1s exposure floor
Processing
- PixInsight with GraXpert, SPCC, SyQon Parallax, and Prism (DeepPrism AI)
- Siril as an alternative stacker
For security I have a home brew system developed that is comprised of cameras, and various sensors. WARNING! Don’t try breaking in as your picture will be immediately spread across the internet! 🙂
Here are a few shots of the observatory.
