MOAG means Manual Off-Axis Guider. It allows you to guide your telescope to obtain sharp, round stars by guiding in front of your filters using unfiltered light in the same optical beam as your imaging camera. This is particularly important for practical use of narrowband filters. It also eliminates potential differential flexure if you guide with a separate guide scope. With modern, automated data acquisition programs, framing your imaging target and placing a guide star in the guide camera is simple and no longer an issue, particularly if you have a remotely-controlled camera rotator.
Our MonsterMOAG™ (MMOAG) is specifically designed to accommodate the larger CCD imaging detectors (36 x 36 mm), such as the KAF16803E and KAF9000E. Furthermore, at 1.23" thick, it has one of the thinnest backfocus for an OAG available, making MonsterMOAG™ an ideal choice for systems with minimal backfocus, such as the Takahashi FSQ106N refractor. However, it is strong enough to handle heavy loads from larger cameras and filter wheels.
When installed, the MonsterMOAG becomes a fixed part of your optical train along with your camera and filter wheel. When you rotate your camera at the back of your telescope, these three components will rotate together. This means that the guide camera location will be fixed relative to the imaging camera. You define this once as your Field-Of-View-Indicator (FOVI) in programs like Software Bisque's TheSkyX. Then you can frame your target while ensuring that the guide camera has a star to guide on.
Astrodon 1.25 inch filters $173-$547
The best performing astronomy filters on the market. Step up to Astrodon Filters
Astrodon is known for designing the best performing, most durable, premium filters for astronomical imaging and research.
For astrophotography, Astrodon LRGB filters simplify imaging by allowing you to take one exposure time for each color, only one corresponding dark exposure time and nearly equal color combine weights in post-processing. The resulting color balance is superb, which is why so many of the top imagers now use Astrodon LRGB filters. These designs eliminate halos around bright stars that detract from the beauty of the galaxy or nebula.
Astrodon NARROWBAND filters set the highest, consistent performance level, and are spectrally narrower than most other filters, leading to the best contrast and faintest structures in your nebula. Astrodon has a performance guarantee of >90%T at the emission line on every box.
UVBRI and Sloan PHOTOMETRIC filters are 100%-coated using no colored glass for long-term durability that is so critical for consistent, long-term research. They have the highest throughputs available for better signals and fainter objects and are becoming widely accepted in professional observatories in sizes up to 150mm. Some of these larger filters are used on the famous Palomar 200″ telescope, at the MacDonald Observatory, Las Cumbres Observatory of Global Telescopes, AAVSO and universities and research organizations worldwide.
All Astrodon astrophotography filters are manufactured in the U.S. with superb quality control using 100% hard-oxide sputtered coatings. Astrodon filters cost a little more because of the benefits that their high performance and great durability provides. Filters are a critical part of telescope systems. They are the “spark plugs” that make the “engine” go. Step up to Astrodons and see the difference.
OSI has purchased Astrodon and all Astrodon products will continue to be made to Don Goldman’s high standards. Don continues to consult with OSI.
For more details on our products and services, please feel free to visit us at Avalon M-uno, Paramount MEII, astrophysics mounts for sale, Optec focusers