Scotia Astro

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Scotia Astro

I dwell in the darkness…but not in a creepy way! 🤣
Astrophotography adventures from the UK, USA and Spain! 🔭📸🇬🇧🇺🇸🇪🇸

I take pictures of Space from my backyard in the UK and remotely from southern Spain! I hope to share the wonders of the universe with you from here and across my Social Media Channels!

26/05/2026

Hey folks!

I just received the NEW AE676C camera from ToupTek HQ for some testing and a review and I'll be sharing my thoughts and first impressions ASAP! 🙂

If you have anything in particular you'd like to know about the camera, just post in the comments below and I'll do my best to include them in my upcoming videos!

Check out the full specs here (Affiliate Link): https://www.touptekastro.com/en-eu/products/ae676c?sca_ref=10069759.VNruzOekY3

ToupTek Astronomy Cameras

21/05/2026

Hey folks!

Just a wee heads up that ToupTek have just released a new colour camera, based on the awesome square format 676 sensor!

I'll be getting a sample to test soon and will post a full review on the Channel once I've had a chance to have a play with it.

Let me know in the comments if you have any specific questions or aspects of the camera that you want me to test and I'll try and include them in the videos...

In the meantime, you can check out the AE676C here (Affiliate Link): https://www.touptekastro.com/en-eu/products/ae676c?sca_ref=10069759.VNruzOekY3

Clear skies to you all! 🔭📸✨

ToupTek Astronomy Cameras

17/05/2026

I was recently sent the tiny SV535 lens/scope from Svbony for some testing/review and managed to grab a very quick first light test from my backyard here in Scotland.

I paired this wee 105mm F2.8 lens with my ZWO 2600MC Pro to test how it held up with an APS-C sensor and to see how wide a view I could actually get.

As I had no Moon to potentially blow out the images, I opted to go filter-less and grab some of the huge dusty areas around the beautiful Iris Nebula.

This stunning reflection nebula lies around 1,400 light years from Earth and its bright blue beacon contrasts wonderfully against the dark and diffuse cosmic dust in this area of Cepheus.

I managed just 3 hours of imaging, but with F2.8 at my disposal, I was able to hoover up a good amount of photons over a short session. With more integration time, I think I could do a lot more to bring out the fainter details, but needless to say, I was VERY pleased with how this lens performed.

Stars were pinpoint, remained sharp throughout my session and the manual focus ring held up well over the course of the night and did not need any adjustments.

The field of view was ridiculously large but really fun to shoot…I dare say this combo could do some ‘damage’ around Cygnus, when I gets high enough for me up here in the far north!

For the small price tag of this puny lens, it really seems to punch well above its weight and is super value for money!

If you want to grab one for yourself, Svbony have kindly provided me with an exclusive discount code (SCOTIA535) which you can use to get 5% OFF your purchase, using one of my affiliate links below:

Amazon UK🇬🇧 Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0G6JP8PK9?maas=maas_adg_1CE9BF8198CDC8F642DCCE55AE9A9473_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas&th=1

Amazon US🇺🇸 Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G5Q17LR7?maas=maas_adg_34AD0A8053F8F0B15CC519F2A3A2180F_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas

Will be doing more testing with other cameras and configurations as and when I can and a full review will be coming soon to my YouTube Channel.

Hope you’re all getting some time under the stars and clear skies to you all!

⏱️ 3h
🎯 NGC 7023 ‘The Iris Nebula’
🔭 Svbony SV535 105mm F2.8
📸 ZWO 2600MC Pro
🔭 Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTi
💻 ZWO ASIAIR Pro

Svbony ASTRO Svbony Telescope Club ZWO Astrophotography Sky-Watcher USA Sky-Watcher

16/05/2026

This tiny Astro rig is fast, compact and adorable! 🥹🔭

I’m currently testing the Svbony SV535, which is a fast and wide lens that’s designed with us Astrophotographers in mind!

I’m pairing it with a dedicated APS-C based cooled colour camera and a light weight mount, to keep my setup tracking the same area of sky throughout the night.

I’ll have some videos about this imaging system coming soon to my YouTube channel, so stay tuned and make sure you’re subscribed, so you don’t miss out on any of my future uploads…🎥🔭📸✨

🔭 Svbony SV535 105mm F2.8
📸 ZWO 2600MC Pro
🔭 Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTi
💻 ZWO ASIAIR Pro

Svbony ASTRO Svbony Telescope Club ZWO Astrophotography Sky-Watcher USA

14/05/2026

The nebulae of Cygnus are rising again!

Here’s a quick stack of NGC 6888 aka ‘The Crescent Nebula’ taken with a SeeStar S30 at Starfront Observatories in Texas…🔭📸✨

Located around 5,000 light years away from Earth and spanning around 25 light years across, the Crescent Nebula is one of the most photographed objects in the vast sea of emission nebulae in Cygnus…

⏱️ 932 x 10s
🎯 NGC 6888 ‘The Crescent Nebula’
🔭 SeeStar S30

ZWO Astrophotography Starfront Observatories

13/05/2026

Huge thanks to High Point Scientific for sharing my latest image! 🙏🏻🔭📸✨

11/05/2026

My wide-field trip around the galaxies of northern skies continues with this wee project around NGC4565 aka ‘The Needle Galaxy’.

Located around 40 million light years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices, The Needle is an edge on spiral galaxy with a lovely dark ribbon of dust running along its outer arms. These are more apparent in the cropped images.

With this more ‘zoomed out’ view, we can also see that the Needle has a number of more distant galactic neighbours of all shapes and sizes.

I was also interested to see a (very) faint red glow appearing on the outer edge of this image, which I imagine are some Hydrogen emissions in the area. I’ll need to revisit this with an H-alpha filter to see if I can draw more of this out in a future project.

Thanks for looking and hope you’re all getting some time under the stars! 🔭📸✨

⏱️ 9h 32’
🎯 NGC4565 ‘The Needle Galaxy’
🔭 StellaMira 90ED Triplet APO
📸 ZWO 2600MM Pro
🔭 iOptron CEM40
⭕️ Antlia 36mm RGB
💻 Beelink GK Mini

ZWO Astrophotography First Light Optics Antlia Astronomy Filter IOptron

09/05/2026

Hey folks!

Just a quick heads up if any of you out there are shopping for a high quality wide-field scope…🔭

There’s a great deal on the ToupTek Hope D60 APO just now, where you can SAVE $100.00 USD OFF the usual price! 🛍️💸

Check out the deal here (Affiliate Link): https://www.touptekastro.com/en-eu/products/hope-d60?sca_ref=10069759.VNruzOekY3

Clear skies to you all! ✨

ToupTek Astronomy Cameras

08/05/2026

I know I’m late to the supernova party, but better late than never!

As Astronomical Darkness fades until later summer here in Scotland, I’m having a last hurrah with my Skywatcher 130PDS Newtonian.

I’m also giving a new filter some first light and I’ve been SUPER impressed with the quality and results of the Anti-Halo UV-IR from Player One Astronomy

I was excited to track down the beautiful ‘Splinter Galaxy’ in Draco, which is a lovely spiral galaxy (seen edge on, from our perspective) located over 50 million light years away!

It has been the focus of many images lately, as a ‘new’ supernova was discovered in amongst the dust and stars of NGC5907, to give it its proper designation.

SN2026kid was discovered by Yasuo Sano in April of 2026 and can be seen just off centre of the galaxy’s axis (see image 2).

As the light from this colossal event has taken over 50 millions years to reach us, this supernova is at present a distant memory to the Universe, but with our amateur telescopes acting as cosmic time machines here on Earth, we’re able to ‘see’ these monumental shifts in space and time, which will forever blow my mind! 🤯

Hope some of you out there managed to snap it too and clear skies to you all! 🔭📸✨

⏱️ 4h
🎯 NGC5907 ‘Splinter Galaxy’
🔭 Skywatcher 130PDS
📸 ZWO 533MC Pro
🔭 Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 GT Pro
⭕️ Player One Anti-Halo
💻 ZWO ASIAIR Plus

Sky-Watcher USA Sky-Watcher First Light Optics ZWO Astrophotography

07/05/2026

Just received this cute wee SV535 for review and testing! 🔭📸✨

Let me know what questions you’d like answered and I’ll try and include in my videos! 💬

Subscribe here so you don’t miss it 👉🏻 https://youtube.com/?si=uy3BptUe9FmxV6Rs

Huge thanks to Svbony ASTRO for sending out to me! 🙏🏻

Svbony Website

02/05/2026

UK🇬🇧 Astro peeps can grab some great deals on a range of Svbony gear on Amazon just now! 🔭📸✨

Check out the deals here (Amazon Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/4w5Qbns

Hope you're all having a great holiday weekend and clear skies to you all!

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