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I'm relatively new to the craft of astronomy, but here is the collection of tools that I have purchased to explore the skies over New Mexico.
ZWO FF80 Refractor
80mm Apochromatic Refracting Telescope
This Petzval design refractor doesn't require a separate field flattner meaning the entire field of view will come into focus for sharp, pinpoint stars from edge to edge. By far my easiest scope to set up and get running for an evening of imaging.
Celestron EdgeHD 11 Reflector
2800mm Schmidt-Cassigrain Reflecting Telescope
After my success with imaging using the FF80, I decided to step up to a larger scope to capture small, dim objects in the night sky. The EdgeHD 11 has been a challenge, but I'm starting to get good, consistent results.
ZWO AM5N
Harmonic Equatorial Mount
I use this mount with the smaller ZWO FF80 telescope and it is very easy to polar align and operate
Losmandy G11
German Equatorial Mount
This mount is more capable of the heavier load of the EdgeHD 11" telescope. It's an old design, but time-tested, and Losmandy has great customer service and support.
Out of all of my hobbies, astrophotography has the most gear needed for success. Below are just a few of my essential items I've used. If you have any questions about additional gear, please reach out for more recommendations!
Eagle 6 Computer
This all-in-one computer and power management system runs my EdgeHD rig.
Esatto 2" Focuser
This robotic microfocuser has been a God-send for keeping my EdgeHD in focus all night long.
Poseiden-C IMX571 APS-C Color Camera
My favorite astrophotography camera brand. Same sensor as other brands, but better hardware and modern USB-C connections.
V4-EC Flat Panel
This convenient panel replaces your lens cap and includes a light source to aid in taking flat and dark frames that improve final image quality by reducing noise and artifacts in your image train.
Phoenix 7x2" Filter Wheel
Player One's fantastic gear also includes an easy to use filter wheel. Highly recommend!
L-Synergy, L-Extreme, and L-Pro models
I exclusively use Optolong filters in both my telescopes to reduce light pollution or focus my imaging session on certain wavelengths.
Here are some of the essential software programs that I have used and can recommend.
Image Catalogue and RAW editing
Even though Adobe's subscription model is getting expensive, I have grown to rely on Lightroom for cataloguing my 1 Million+ images. I also start all of my editing using its powerful RAW processing tools.
Photo Editing Suite
I don't use Photoshop's powerful editing software as much now that Lightroom has improved so much. But there are still times where it can improve an image more than any other tool available and I wouldn't want to be without it.
Advanced Image Processing for Astrophotography
Designed specifically for astrophotography image processing and is essential for stacking and editing the thousands of images taken over multiple nights of collection
PiMagic and AstroMagic
Together, these two editing suites from PiMagic take the hard work out of stacking, processing, and editing astrophotography images.