To capture material similar to TFA, a 5" diameter (127 mm) telescope would do (here perhaps a larger one was used, but in bad seeing conditions [1]), e.g. a che

To capture material similar to TFA, a 5" diameter (127 mm) telescope would do (here perhaps a larger one was used, but in bad seeing conditions [1]), e.g. a cheap $100-$200 Newtonian. Add a reasonable mount (~$400) and a camera (one can start with a converted webcam, or get a dedicated model - typically sporting higher FPS, better sensors, also mono, etc.; those start at $150-$200). A lot of popular software for mount control, video acquisition, image processing is free (and often open-source). The best source of knowledge are astronomy forums, e.g. [2], [3], [4], and country-specific ones. To see what's possible with amateur-grade equipment, go to AstroBin.com; e.g., Jupiter with 14" telescope: https://www.astrobin.com/bzxs52/?q=jupiter%20c14 https://www.astrobin.com/bzxs52/?q=jupiter%20c14 (Shameless plug: I have some Jupiter shots and time lapses in my gallery [5] as well. Sadly, no impacts caught - yet!) Lastly, for lunar/solar/planetary imaging light pollution is not an issue - they're bright enough. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_seeing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_seeing [2] cloudynights.com [3] stargazerslounge.com [4] solarchatforum.com [5] https://www.astrobin.com/users/GreatAttractor/ https://www.astrobin.com/users/GreatAttractor/