Equipment Loan Program – Night Sky 45 Astronomy Club

Don’t yet have your own gear?

Want to try before you buy?

Already own a telescope but would like to see what different types of gear have to offer?

1. Common Answers:

Fee: no fee, but must be a member.
Security deposit (via check or cash): $250.
Equipment to be returned by end of checkout period – see equipment description.
Return Grace Period: 2 weeks, then borrower is billed.

2. View equipment list:

C1: ATIK Infinity Color CCD Camera

The Infinity camera is a very sensitive CCD camera and coupled with the automated aligning and stacking software, is a very simple to use yet very powerful combination for astrophotography. It is also capable of being an auto-guider. A USB cable is supplied and a cable to a cigarette plug for 12VDC is also included. However, it has a standard DC power jack if you can’t supply power via the cigarette plug. The software has settings to allow the camera to take color images, for say nebulae, or mono, for globular cluster or galaxy images. The system also needs a computer, that you must supply. Included is a very handy Quick Start guide to get you going.

Eagle Nebula shot with the ATIK Infinity and an 81mm f5.9 refractor.

T1: 6 inch f8 Custom Dobsonian

This handsome 6” Dobsonian telescope features an eyepiece holder and is designed so that the tube can be moved up and down the rocker box for better balance or eyepiece height. The tube is 48 inches long making it easy to fit into most cars.

Accessories and equipment list:

1.25” Rack and Pinion Focuser.
Telrad Finder Scope.
Four Position Eyepiece Holder.
26 mm Celestron Plossl Eyepiece.
4 mm Celestron Plossl Eyepiece.

T2: 8 inch f7 Custom Dobsonian

This 8” f7 Dobsonian has sufficient aperture and focal length to do a good job on both deep sky objects and the planets. It’s thick tube and heavy weight make it less susceptible to the wind. It has a tube length of 60 inches so you need to make sure your transportation can handle it.

Accessories and equipment list:

1.25” Rack and Pinion Focuser.
Telrad Finder Scope.
26 mm Celestron Plossl Eyepiece.
4 mm Celestron Plossl Eyepiece.

T3: 8 inch f6 Meade Starfinder

Here is a classic Dobsonian telescope. Specifically, it is a Meade 8” Starfinder. For added portability a carrying handle has been attached to the optical tube. An 8” scope opens up many more deep sky objects to search for and adds extra details in every object seen over scopes of lesser aperture. Due to its f6 focal ratio, the 48” long tube and mount can easily to taken to a dark site.

Accessories and equipment list:

1.25”Rack and Pinion Focuser.
Telrad Finder Scope.
32 mm Celestron Plossl Eyepiece.
15 mm Celestron Plossl Eyepiece.
3X Meade Barlow.
Celestron 23A Red Filter.
Celestron 58A Dark Green Filter.
Moon Filter.

T4: 10 inch f3.9 Orion Newtonian

This telescope is a 10 inch Orion f3.9 Newtonian Astrograph reflector resting on a Celestron ASGT mount. This is a very portable combination can be easily taken to a dark site with the 48” long tube assembly weighing 25.5 lbs.

Accessories and equipment list:

2” Rack and Pinion Focuser with 1.25” Adapter.
9 x 50mm Finder Scope.
Five Position Eyepiece Holder in Tripod.
26 mm Astrola Wide Field Eyepiece.
6 mm Parks Kellner Eyepiece.
2X Celestron Barlow.

T5: Sky Watcher Star Adventurer

This Sky Watcher Star Adventurer is a tracking device with an equipment platform for mounting your own telescope or camera. Perfect for wide field astrophotography and an integral piece of gear for getting ‘that awesome Milky Way shot’.

It has a built-in polar scope to help achieve accurate guiding and it comes with a sturdy carbon fiber tripod to complete the package.

Note: You will need to understand polar alignment to use it effectively.

Accessories and equipment list:

Carbon fiber tripod.
Equipment platform to mount your own scope or camera.

T6: Sky Watcher Evolux 62ED Refractor

This 62mm OD telescope has a focal length of 400mm and a speed of f6.45 making it suitable for many wide field objects. Unlike other donated equipment, this was bought new specifically to be a good match for T5: the Star adventurer tracker mount. The OTA weights only 5.5 pounds making it a great grab and go combination. This scope is not sold with a finder scope so a Meade finder scope has been added.

Accessories and equipment list:

2″ to 1.25″ eyepiece adapter.
Meade 8 x 21mm finder scope.
Hard case.

Picture of Sky Watcher Evolux 62ED Refractor telescope.

T7: ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescope

TThe ZWO S50 is part of a new generation of telescopes that combine an integral GOTO mount with a precision optics and WIFI connectivity (it has both Android and Apple apps). It is extremely light weight and small making it one of the most portable system in existence. The carrying case measures about 12″x 12″x 7″ and weights less than 10 pounds. The sensor is a Sony IMX462 (1080 x 1920 with 2.9um square pixels) and the optics are 50mm in diameter and an f5 focal length (250mm). I have included a 1/4-20 to 3/8-16 adapter so that it can be used on practically any tripod..

Accessories and Equipment List:

1/4-20 to 3/8-16.
Hard case.
Solar filter.
Carbon fiber tripod.

Picture of the Omega Nebula M17 231027 26 minutes. — Omega Nebula M17 231027 26 minutes

3. Complete the loaner request:

NS45 Equipment Loaner Request Form

Fee: no fee, but must be a member.
Security deposit (via check or cash): $250.
Equipment to be returned by end of checkout period – see equipment description.
Return Grace Period: 2 weeks, then borrower is billed.

Equipment Checkout Form (#5)

First Name (required)

Last Name (required)

Phone/Mobile (required)

Email (required)

Member Status (required)

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Are you a NS45 member?

Select the item to check out

Select item to check out (required):

Address

Address Line 1 (required)

Address Line 2

City (required)

State (required)

Zip Code (required)

Equipment Loan Contract (required)

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1. DON’T LOOK AT THE SUN. The borrower agrees to never look directly at the sun through the telescope or its finder scope. Permanent eye damage could result. Nightsky45 Astronomy Club will not be held liable for any injuries incurred because of telescope use.
2. CLUB MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED. The borrower must be a member of the club. If they are not a member, they must become a member by paying the current membership dues.
3. CHECKOUT DURATION: Standard duration is 3 months; Short duration is 1 month for popular items (C1 Atik camera; T5 Sky Watcher Star Adventurer). If the borrower of any equipment wants to keep it longer, they must contact the Equipment Coordinator to see if someone else has asked for it. If no one wants to borrow the equipment the original borrower can keep it for another time period associated with that equipment.
4. TRANSFERS PERFORMED WITH NS45 EQUIMENT COORDINATOR: The borrowing and returning of the equipment will be handled through the NightSky45 Equipment Coordinator.
5. SECURE EQUIMENT: When transporting the equipment, borrower will take all reasonable care to secure it.
6. READ INSTRUCTIONS: The borrower is responsible for reading the instruction sheet for the equipment’s proper care and use if one is provided with the equipment.
7. BORROWER LIABLE REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTATNCES: The borrower will not expose the equipment to water or other liquids, or to extreme heat or cold. Beyond normal reasonable wear and tear, any damages to the equipment will be the responsibility of the borrower, regardless of the circumstances of said damages.
8. USE FOR INTENDED PURPOSES ONLY: The borrower will only use the equipment for its intended purpose to view/image the nighttime sky.
9. DO NOT REMOVE: Barcodes, stickers, labels, and other identifiers may NOT be removed.
10. SIGNATURE: The borrower, will sign a printed copy of this form when picking up equipment, acknowledging that the “equipment set” is complete and in working order, and that he or she is responsible for all charges accrued for any damage to the equipment during the lending period, and for the full replacement cost if applicable.

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