Little Swan
Hi, I am the little brother of the ZS 105mm Triplet Refractor telescope. Yes, I am small and want to be like my big brother when I grow up. Currently, I am a 66mm air spaced doublet with SD elements. I only weigh 3.5 pounds and I'm 11 inches tall. Being a good observer, I watch and mimic my bigger brother. So look on and see all the stuff that I can do; despite my small size. By the way, they don't call me an APO telescope, but I act like one.
Designed by Warrior Using Arachnophilia
***** Zenithstar 66 SD Doublet Photo Gallery *****
Messier 104, The Sombrero Galaxy in Corvus. Stock Nikon D50 DSLR , 66mm SD telescope, 388mm, f/5.9. The image was exposed at 8 x 3 min and 8 x 4 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, IDAS LPS filter. STV with e-finder autoguided. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75. Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.01, 18 Apr 2006.
A plethora of galaxies populate this region known as Markarian's Chain, located in the Virgo Coma Berenices region. In this image, M86 and M84 dominate; flanked by elongated galaxies NGC 4388 and 4402. A Nikon D50 DSLR was prime focus to William Optic ZS 66 ED refractor. The image was exposed at 8 x 4 min, 2 x 2 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, IDAS LPS filter. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75. Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.0. Vixen GP-DX tracking with SBIG STV autoguided via e-finder guidescope. From SE Michigan, 25 April 2006.
Wide-field of the Galaxy Rich region in Canes Venatici. At the top is the spiral galaxy M106, flanked by NGC 4485 on left and NGC 3675 on lower right. Stock Nikon D50 DSLR , 66mm SD telescope, 397mm, f/5.9. The image was exposed at 4 x 4 min, 10 x 3 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, STV with e-finder autoguided. No flats or darks applied. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 (Adaptive add combine). Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.01, 22 May 2006.
The North American Nebula, NGC 7000, is located in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. This vast red rich region occupies over 3 degrees of sky real estate. The bright star ( 3.7 magnitude ) on the left is Xi Cygni. A stock Nikon D50 DSLR was prime focus to William Optic ZS 66 ED; which is perfect for this type of wide-field object. This image was exposed at 8 x 6 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, IDAS LPS filter. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 ( Adaptive add combine ). Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.01. Vixen GP-DX tracking with SBIG STV autoguided via e-finder guidescope. From SE Michigan, 6 May 2006.
M5 Globular Star Cluster in Serpens Caput. Nikon D50 DSLR , 66mm SD telescope, 388mm, f/5.9. The image was exposed at 10 x 1 min, 4 x 2 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, No flats or darks applied. Vixen GP-DX tracking. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 and Neat Image Pro. Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.01, 17 Apr 2006.
Wide field ofThe Eagle Nebula, M16, is located in the region of Scutum Serpens in the SE sky. This is challenging target from 42 deg lat., due to the low elevation and skyglow. A stock Nikon D50 DSLR was prime focus to William Optic ZS 66 ED. This image was exposed at 12 x 3 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, IDAS LPS filter. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 ( adaptive add combine ). Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.0. Vixen GP-DX tracking with SBIG STV autoguided via e-finder guidescope. From SE Michigan, 22 May 2006.
M101 Spiral Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. Nikon D50 DSLR , 66mm SD telescope, 388mm, f/5.9, Hutech IDAS LPS filter. The image was exposed at 10 x 4 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, No flats or darks applied. Sixty percent crop from original. Vixen GP-DX with Skysensor 2000 tracking. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 ( Sigma Clip Average Combine ) and Neat Image Pro. Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.01, 25 Apr 2006.
The Ring Nebula, is located in the constellation Lyra. At top center is Vega and the double star epsilon lyra. On the bottom is Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann at 0400 EDT. This is wide field shot, taken at 397mm, f/5.9. A stock Nikon D50 DSLR was prime focus to William Optic ZS 66 ED. This image was exposed at 4 x 1.5 min, 4 x 2 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, IDAS LPS filter. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 (Adaptive add combine). Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.0. Vixen GP-DX tracking with SBIG STV autoguided via e-finder guidescope. From SE Michigan, 8 May 2006.
Galaxy pair M81 and M82 in the constellation Ursa Major. Nikon D50 DSLR , 66mm SD telescope, 397mm, f/5.9, Hutech IDAS LPS filter. The image was exposed at 7 x 4 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, No flats or darks applied. Sixty percent crop from original. Vixen GP-DX with Skysensor 2000 tracking. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 ( Adaptive Add Combine ) and Neat Image Pro. Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.01, 6 May 2006.
Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann at 0400 EDT in the constellation Lyra. This image is a 50 percent crop, taken at 397mm, f/5.9. A stock Nikon D50 DSLR was prime focus to William Optic ZS 66 ED. This image was exposed at 5 x 4 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, IDAS LPS filter. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 (Adaptive add combine) and Neat Image Pro. Final processing with Paint Shop Pro 9.0. Vixen GP-DX tracking, SBIG STV autoguided via e-finder guidescope. From SE Michigan, 8 May 2006.
The Pelican Nebula, IC 5070, is east of the North American Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. This emission nebula spans over a degree in this red rich region. Stock Nikon D50 DSLR , 66mm SD telescope, 397mm, f/5.9, Hutech IDAS LPS filter. The image was exposed at 10 x 4 min, 5 x 6 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW. Vixen GP-DX with Skysensor 2000 tracking, STV autoguided. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 ( Sigma clip Average Combine ), Neat Image Pro, and Photoshop 6. Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.01, 23 May 2006.
Dumbbell Nebula (M27) in Vulpecula. This is a nice planetary located south of Cygnus. Notice the 12 mag star in the center; a good test of the optics of this APO refractor. This image is a 50 percent crop, Exposed at 7 x 3 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW, Daylight WB, IDAS LPS filter. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 ( Adaptive add combine, L-R deconvolution ) and Neat Image Pro. Final processing with Paint Shop Pro 9.0. STV autoguided. From SE Michigan, 23 May 2006.
The Great Galaxy M31 in the constellation Andromeda. Nikon D50 DSLR , William Optic 66mm SD refractor, 397mm, f/5.9, Hutech IDAS LPS filter. The image was exposed at 8 x 4 min, ISO 800, Nikon RAW. No flat or dark frames applied. Vixen GP-DX with Skysensor 2000 tracking, STV autoguided. Focus, Image Capture, and Processed with ImagesPlus 2.75 ( Average Combine ). Final processing and re-sizing with Paint Shop Pro 9.01. Taken under moonless sky from SE Michigan, 0030 EST, 21 August 2006
