Astroprints Dew Shield and Stray Light Protection with Spike Mask for Seestar S30 from ZWO

Astroprints Dew Shield and Stray Light Protection with Spike Mask for Seestar S30 from ZWO

Dew is often a real problem on clear nights. After just a few hours, the optics start to fog up, making observation or photography impossible. A good dew shield reduces the risk of fogging and thus extends the observation time.

Lateral stray light is also kept out. Stray light, for example from street lamps, reduces contrast and often causes unwanted reflections in photographs. Dew shields are really black on the inside. Stray light cannot enter the telescope in the first place.

Newtonian spikes are created by the interference of light rays passing through the aperture of the telescope and the spike mask. The mask consists of a series of thin, parallel lines that focus the light into these lines. When the light then hits the lens, a diffraction pattern is created which produces the spikes.

The spike mask is a simple and effective tool that can add a dramatic effect to images. It is a good choice for anyone who wants to have the Newtonian spikes in their astrophotographs without having to deal with image post-processing.

To use the spike mask, simply place the mask on the dew shield attached in front of the telescope objective and then move the telescope to a bright object such as the moon or a star cluster. The spikes should then be visible.

Here are some tips for using the spike mask:

Make sure that the mask is clean before you use it. Dirt or dust can impair the image quality.

Make sure that the mask is perfectly aligned. If the mask is not aligned, the spikes may be blurred or distorted.

With a little practice, you can take beautiful pictures with Newtonian spikes using the spike mask:

Attach the mask to the telescope and align it with the object to be photographed.

Get the classic spikes of a Newtonian telescope in live view.

The spikes will be more clearly visible on the images.

A Seestar spike mask in use


The picture was taken with the Seestar S50 and the Seestar spike mask. In the brighter stars, the so-called spikes become visible, which give the image a very special charm.

- Dew shield
- Spike mask

Safety informations: PDF Download