What kind of astronomer are you?
Pick the night you want. We’ll show you the setups that get you there.
What are you looking for today?
13 setupsNarrow by how you’ll observe, or how far along you are.
Milky Way Tracker
“Tracked wide-field astrophotos — no computer, no counterweights.”
The simplest way into tracked astrophotography. A Star Adventurer 2i quietly follows the sky so your exposures stay sharp, while the RedCat 51 frames constellations, the Milky Way core, and big nebula regions edge-to-edge. There's no laptop and no guiding to learn — level it, point it, and shoot. Bring your own DSLR or mirrorless, or add the dedicated cooled camera.
Portable Deep-Sky Imager
“A full deep-sky imaging kit that fits in one bag.”
A modern strain-wave imaging rig. The ZWO AM5N harmonic mount carries real payload with no counterweight and folds down small, while the Askar FRA400C quintuplet delivers a flat, fast field for nebulae and larger galaxies. Add the ASIAIR and a guide scope and you have a complete, travel-ready astrophotography setup that used to take a carload.
Smart Scope Starter
“The whole sky, from your phone — no setup, no learning curve.”
An all-in-one smart telescope that does the hard parts itself: it finds the target, tracks it, and live-stacks a real image straight to your phone. The Seestar S30 is the fastest path from curiosity to an actual photo of a nebula or galaxy — no mount to balance, no eyepieces, no polar alignment.
Star Cluster Sweeper
“Sweep the Milky Way, pinpoint sharp.”
Ultra-wide-field setup for large star clusters and sweeping the Milky Way. The 80ED apochromat and Nagler 31mm give a true field of view over 4°.
Beginner Backyard Observer
“The telescope you'll keep for years.”
A complete 8" Dobsonian package on a smooth alt-az base — the classic best-value first telescope. Eight inches of aperture shows the Moon and planets in detail and pulls in bright galaxies and nebulae, and it comes ready to observe out of the box. Paired here with a wide 2" low-power eyepiece and a sharp high-power eyepiece to cover the whole range.
Planetary Specialist
“Park on a planet and let the detail surface.”
High-magnification configuration optimised for Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. The C8 SCT delivers the long focal length needed to resolve fine planetary detail.
Deep Sky Explorer
“More aperture, fainter galaxies, darker nights.”
A big-aperture visual Dobsonian paired with premium wide-field eyepieces. Ten inches of aperture pulls in faint galaxies and globular clusters, and the Ethos/Delos eyepieces deliver those photons with immersive, edge-to-edge sharpness under dark skies.
Portable Travel Rig
“The scope that actually comes with you.”
Grab-and-go refractor for casual observing and travel. The ZenithStar 73 fits in a backpack and delivers excellent views of the Moon, planets, and bright DSOs.
Widefield Visual Explorer
“Frame the whole nebula in one view.”
Wide-field visual setup for large nebulae and star clusters. The ZenithStar 73 apochromat gives pinpoint stars edge-to-edge with the Panoptic 35mm.
Widefield Nebula Imaging
“Glowing nebulae, framed wide, even from the suburbs.”
A fast, wide-field imaging rig built on the Askar SQA55 quintuplet astrograph — a native-flat f/4.8 optic that frames large emission nebulae whole. Paired with the ASI2600MC Pro and an HEQ5 Pro, it's a proven narrowband-from-the-city setup.
Galaxy Hunter
“Go deep on galaxies and small nebulae.”
A long-focal-length one-shot-color imaging rig built around the Celestron EdgeHD 9.25. The flat, edge-corrected field and a 0.7x reducer bring galaxies and compact planetary nebulae within reach, while the EQ6-R Pro carries the tube steadily through long exposures.
Planetary Imaging Setup
“Catch Jupiter's storms on a steady night.”
High frame-rate planetary imaging. The C8 gives 2032mm focal length; the 2x Barlow doubles it. The ASI462MC is optimised for low-noise, high-speed colour capture.
Beginner Astrophotography Rig
“Your first real astrophotos, without the heartbreak.”
Simple and beginner-friendly deep-sky imaging setup. The RedCat 51 is a forgiving short focal length scope; the ASI533MC square sensor fits its field perfectly.
What a complete setup includes
Every Skynocular setup is built from the same handful of parts. Here’s what each one does — so the word “setup” actually means something.
The optics that gather light and form the image — aperture decides how much you see.
Holds the scope steady and tracks the sky as it slowly turns overhead.
What you look through for visual observing — it sets magnification and field of view.
Records faint light over minutes or hours for astrophotography.
Runs GoTo mounts, cooled cameras and controllers through the night.
Filters, finders, guiding and the small parts that make a night go smoothly.
Prefer to build your own adventure?
Start in the simulator, pick a telescope, and see exactly what it captures — we’ll check every part fits as you go.