Ouachita Observatory
Imaging Rigs
IMAGING

Imaging Rigs

Two primary imaging rigs cover a wide range of targets — galaxies, nebulae, and wide-field objects — using mono cameras with LRGB and narrowband filter sets, guided via off-axis guiding and controlled through NINA.

Rig Overview Power System
At a Glance
Rig 1
Explore Scientific 127mm + Ogma 26M (mono)
Mount
Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Rig 2
Askar SCA 106mm + Poseidon-M Pro (mono)
Mount
ZWO AM5N
Rig Breakdown
Optics • Sensors • Filters • Guiding • Control
Explore Scientific 127mm Telescope
GALAXY / NB
Ogma mono + Astronomik LRGB + Astronomik SHO 12nm
Details →
Askar SCA 106mm Telescope
WIDEFIELD
Poseidon-M Pro mono + Antlia LRGB + Antlia SHO 7nm
Details →
Automation & Control
NINA
NINA, ASCOM Remote, Green Swamp Server, mount drivers
Details →
Explore Scientific 127mm Refractor Telescope
A high-resolution mono imaging rig built around the ES 127mm refractor with LRGB and narrowband capability, guided with an off-axis guider for precision tracking.
Optics
Explore Scientific 127mm
Hotech SCA field flattener
Camera + Filters
Ogma 26M mono camera
Ogma 7-position filter wheel
Astronomik Deep Sky LRGB
Astronomik SHO 12nm (SII / Ha / OIII)
Guiding
Ogma OAG XL off-axis guider
ZWO ASI 174MM guide camera
Mount
Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
ES127 telescope with callouts (context view)
/img/rigs/es127-b.jpg
Askar SCA 106mm Refractor Telescope
A wider field mono rig tuned for nebulae and large objects with faster narrowband filters and a modern strain-wave mount.
Optics
Askar SCA 106mm
Camera + Filters
Player One Poseidon-M Pro mono camera
Player One Phoenix 7-position filter wheel
Antlia V-series LRGB
Antlia SHO 7nm (SII / Ha / OIII)
Guiding
Player One FHD-OAG Max
Xena-M guide camera
Mount
ZWO AM5N
sca106 telescope with callouts (context view)
/img/rigs/sca106.jpg
Automation & Control
Both imaging rigs are run with NINA, which handles sequencing, autofocus, and meridian flips. Each rig uses a headless Beelink Mini S12 Pro (Windows 11) with 16 GB RAM and a 500 GB M.2 SSD. Even with their low-power CPUs, these mini PCs run the capture workflow extremely well. All image processing is done separately on my home-office workstation. Each telescope computer also runs ASCOM Remote Server, which feeds position/status data to the AllSky system so the AllSky camera can track the telescopes while they’re active overnight. Inside the observatory, I also keep a dual-screen laptop at the workbench, which can be used to connect to and control the telescope computers locally when needed.
Laptop at observatory workbench (context view)
/img/rigs/laptop.jpg
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