§ The Kit
Astrophotography rewards aperture, focal length, and patient automation. Visual observing rewards a different curve: Time spent at the eyepiece with the right tool for the night. The kit below is built for both pursuits, from a pair of rich-field binoculars to a thirty-inch light bucket. Click any instrument's photo to see additional views.
Always the first thing out of the case. Two very different tools: one for sweeping the whole sky, one for working it in detail.
Rich-field binocular
Barely magnifies, but with a huge field of view that turns the naked-eye sky into something closer to what a fully dark-adapted retina is actually capable of. First thing out of the case on any moonless night, and around my neck during the entire observing session.
Handheld astronomy binocular
The classic handheld astronomy configuration. Sweep the Milky Way, hunt comets, dissect open clusters, and pick out the brightest globulars. Premium glass in a tool that's always within arm's reach.
From small grab-and-go visual scopes to the dedicated imaging triplet. Refractors handle most of what leaves this site as a photograph.
Apochromatic triplet refractor
A 3-inch apochromatic triplet: color-corrected, mechanically refined, and remarkably sharp for the aperture. Punches above its weight for wide-field imaging and serves as a forgiving visual scope for guests. Easy to grab, easy to mount. This is my go-to widefield travel scope.
Photos from this instrument →
Doublet refractor · two units
Two of these discontinued Tele Vue classics built before the chrome-and-green era. Ideal grab-and-go visual scopes that travel well to dark sites. One of them has the collectible brass tube!
Apochromatic triplet · astrophotography rig
The dedicated astrophotography rig. A 100mm apochromatic triplet with a matched flattener, mounted on a permanent equatorial pier, autoguided, and running unattended through the night. Most of what you see in the gallery starts here.
Photos from this instrument →Folded optical paths in compact tubes. Big focal lengths for fine detail and small bright targets.
Corrected Schmidt-Cassegrain
The all-rounder. Long focal length for planetary detail, a corrected field for small galaxies and clusters, compact enough to set up anywhere. The scope I reach for when the night's program is uncertain.
Photos from this instrument →
Rutten Maksutov-Cassegrain
Long focal length, narrow field, extremely sharp at high magnification. Exactly what you want for chasing fine detail on planets, the moon, and tight double stars. A specialist that does one thing better than anything else in the kit. Figured by legendary maker Max Bray, this is a special piece of history as well.
Photos from this instrument →Visual aperture, plain and simple. The light buckets: Built for nights when only photons will do.
Premium truss-tube Dobsonian
Premium aperture from David Kriege's Wisconsin workshop. The first scope in the kit where galaxies start showing real structure and globulars dissolve into stars at the eyepiece. A workhorse for serious visual observing under desert skies.
Photos from this instrument →
Truss-tube Dobsonian · light bucket
The end-game visual instrument. Thirty inches of aperture on a precision truss platform. Climb the ladder, settle in at the eyepiece, and faint galaxies start looking like the photos in books. This is the scope southern Arizona's Bortle 2 skies were built for.
Photos from this instrument →The glass at the end of the chain. A mix of ultra-wide field, high-magnification, and specialty optics covering everything from naked-eye augmentation to deep planetary detail.
Binoviewer · 2″ barrel · with dual LOA 21mm eyepieces
A premium binoviewer that mounts to any 2″ focuser and splits the optical path to both eyes simultaneously. The effect is immediate and dramatic: Perceived contrast and fine detail increase significantly because both hemispheres of the brain are processing the image. The full kit includes the dual LOA (Lederman Optical Array) matched pair 21mm eyepieces designed to reach focus across a wide range of telescope configurations. I have all accessories: The OCS-A45, Power Switch, and Filter Switch. Works on essentailly all telescopes. I own 3 LOA eyepieces in total, so I can choose between 2D and 3D viewing.
Ultra-wide angle eyepiece · 100° AFOV · 1.25″
Nine millimeters of focal length with a 100° apparent field of view. At high magnification this delivers an immersive spacewalk effect where the eyepiece frame disappears and you're simply floating in the field. Pinpoint stars hold across most of the field. The go-to choice for resolving fine planetary detail and tight double stars while still retaining wide sky context.
Ultra-wide angle eyepiece · 100° AFOV · 2″
A 20mm ultra-wide angle eyepiece with a 100° apparent field of view. One of the best mid-magnification wide-field options available. In a fast refractor this sweeps up large emission nebulae and extended open clusters with exceptional edge-to-edge sharpness. The 2″ barrel maximizes the real field of view available from any focal length.
Premium wide-angle eyepiece · 70° AFOV · 2″
The longest focal length in the kit, delivering the lowest magnification and widest real field available from any scope in the collection. The Pentax XW series is built to premium tolerances: sharp across the full 70° field, with 20mm of eye relief that makes it comfortable for extended sessions and forgiving for guests who wear glasses. Essential for rich-field sweeps of open clusters, the Milky Way, and large extended nebulae. My personal favorite.
Illuminated reticle eyepiece · 1.25″
A 20mm illuminated crosshair reticle eyepiece for polar alignment and precise pointing work. The illuminated reticle makes centering stars straightforward in full darkness without affecting night vision. Standard kit for equatorial mount polar alignment, and essential for star-aligning Alt-Az visual systems.
Premium finder scope · 50mm aperture
A premium finder from Takahashi. 50mm of aperture at 7× magnification, with a wide enough true field to star-hop from any bright anchor to any target in the sky. The glass quality is good enough that it doubles as a dedicated stellar monocular on its own terms.
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