The one negative thing about deep-sky observing has to be the lack of colour in the view through an eyepiece.
When running public stargazing events, I have to make sure everybody understands that what they’ll observe won’t necessarily look like the stunning astro images seen in glossy magazines.
It can be a little disappointing, but they generally accept that the views will mostly be monochrome.
With that in mind though, it really is mind-blowing some of the things you can see with even a modest sized setup.
This month we review the Takahashi CCA250 OTA, the Mallincam Xtreme video camera and the William Optics ZS71ED doublet Refractor.
The Takahashi CCA250 OTA, reviewed by Steve Richards, produces stunning colourful images and when used for visual purposes, incredibly deep views of the Universe.
The Mallincam Xtreme video camera has been used by cameraman Mark Payne-Gill for live colour views of the deep-sky on programmes like the Sky at Night and Stargazing LIVE.
It will only be a matter of time before the price comes down so we can all enjoy these views at home.
Finally, compared with the Takahashi CCA250, the William Optics ZS71ED may seem small yet it can still deliver great wide-field images of the Universe.
So whatever size your pocket, there is always something that can bring a little colour to your views of the night sky.