Berk 14
Use your telescope rigs to see how this object appears.
Telescope setups ranked by optical compatibility with this target.
Planetary Imaging Setup
High frame-rate planetary imaging. The C8 gives 2032mm of focal length and the 2x Barlow doubles it, putting the image at roughly f/20 — about where the ASI662MC's 2.9-micron pixels stop throwing away detail. The camera runs fast and clean, which is what lets you keep only the sharpest frames.
4 components
Galaxy Hunter
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.
7 components
Small Scope, Big Magnification
A 105mm Maksutov folds 1365mm of focal length into a tube barely longer than a wine bottle, which is why it reaches high magnification without the bulk or the price of an 8-inch SCT. At 114x and 195x it shows lunar craters in relief, Jupiter's cloud belts and moons, Saturn's rings with the gap, and Venus going through its phases. The Twilight I underneath is deliberately over-specified — at nearly 200x, mount stiffness matters more than anything else you can buy.
4 components
White-Light Sun Watcher
Solar observing in white light. A full-aperture filter fits over the front of the C8 and rejects all but a whisper of the sunlight before it enters the telescope, leaving a crisp white disc with sunspot groups, granulation and the darker limb. It is the only target that is up when you are, and the only one that changes visibly from day to day.
4 components