ZWO FF90 APO with QHY600M (standard, with CAA)
1.27″ per pixel across a 3.39° × 2.26° field, at 609 mm and f/6.8. 22 of the catalogue's 29 equatorial mounts carry the 7.02 kg train within the imaging derate.
Every figure is computed from catalogue rows that link their maker's page. Rows marked provisional have not yet had a second, human check.
Optics
At the native focal length.
Image circle: 44 mm, the telescope's stated figure (ZWO FF90 APO). Source
Sampling
Seeing divided by image scale: how many pixels a star's core spans. Each band is a tradeoff, and wide-field work is undersampled on purpose.
At 2.5″ seeing a star’s core spans 1.96 pixels on this sensor. Practical band for typical seeing.
| Seeing | FWHM | Band |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5″ | 1.18px | undersampled |
| 2.5″ | 1.96px | practical |
| 3.5″ | 2.75px | practical |
- Undersampled; the standard, deliberate wide-field trade.
- Practical band for typical seeing.
Framing
The 13 catalogue targets against this field, by the fraction of the frame each fills along its tighter axis.
M45 Pleiades fills 111 % of the frame and M27 Dumbbell Nebula 5 %. Of the 13, 6 fill the frame, 1 is a tight crop, 6 are small in the frame.
| Target | Size | Frame filled |
|---|---|---|
| M31 Andromeda Galaxy | 178′ × 70′ | 88%fills the frame |
| M45 Pleiades | 150′ × 150′ | 111%tight crop |
| NGC 7000 North America Nebula | 120′ × 30′ | 59%fills the frame |
| NGC 1499 California Nebula | 160′ × 40′ | 79%fills the frame |
| IC 1805 Heart Nebula | 60′ × 60′ | 44%fills the frame |
| M42 Orion Nebula | 90′ × 60′ | 44%fills the frame |
| NGC 2237 Rosette Nebula | 80′ × 50′ | 39%fills the frame |
| M101 Pinwheel Galaxy | 24′ × 23′ | 17%small in the frame |
| M27 Dumbbell Nebula | 6.7′ × 6.7′ | 5%small in the frame |
| M51 Whirlpool Galaxy | 13.7′ × 11.7′ | 9%small in the frame |
| M81 Bode's Galaxy | 22′ × 11.3′ | 11%small in the frame |
| M13 Hercules Globular Cluster | 16.5′ × 16.5′ | 12%small in the frame |
| NGC 4565 Needle Galaxy | 16.8′ × 2.9′ | 8%small in the frame |
Target sizes: OpenNGC by Mattia Verga (tag v20260501), CC BY-SA 4.0. This table is shared under the same license. Source and license
Spacing
The corrector rows this telescope links in the Backfocus Solver's catalogue, with the face each figure is measured from.
No separate corrector is needed. The maker: “The FF90 APO features a native flat-field optical design, eliminating the need for an additional field flattener.” Source
ZWO FF90 APO (built-in flattener)
- Connection range
- up to 75mm
- Measured from
- base of the M48x0.75 male thread on the scope's M54-M48 adapter (maximum connection length)
- Focal length
- the telescope's own
- Image circle
- 44 mm; this sensor is 43.27 mm
Mounts
The catalogue's equatorial mounts that carry this train within 60 % of their rated payload, the imaging derate. The sum is the Rig Reality Check's.
On the saddle this train weighs 7.02 kg, 2.25 kg of it assumed. 22 of the 29 equatorial mounts in the catalogue carry it within the derate; the smallest rated is the iOptron CEM26 (AccuAlign, 1.5" tripod), at 59 %. 7 more would run it over 60 %.
| Mount | Rated | Used | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| iOptron CEM26 (AccuAlign, 1.5" tripod) | 12kg | 59% | Workable; more sensitive to wind, little room to grow |
| iOptron GEM28 (AccuAlign, 1.5" tripod) | 12.7kg | 55% | Workable; more sensitive to wind, little room to grow |
| iOptron HEM27 | 13.5kg | 52% | Workable; more sensitive to wind, little room to grow |
| Rainbow Astro RST-135E | 13.5kg | 52% | Workable; more sensitive to wind, little room to grow |
| WarpAstron WD-17 | 13.5kg | 52% | Workable; more sensitive to wind, little room to grow |
| Celestron Advanced VX (AVX) | 13.6kg | 52% | Workable; more sensitive to wind, little room to grow |
The other 16 mounts that carry it
| Mount | Rated | Used | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasus Astro NYX-88 | 14kg | 50% | Workable; more sensitive to wind, little room to grow |
| Sky-Watcher HEQ5-R Pro | 15kg | 47% | Comfortable |
| Sky-Watcher Wave 150i | 15kg | 47% | Comfortable |
| ZWO AM5N | 15kg | 47% | Comfortable |
| Celestron CGEM II | 18kg | 39% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| iOptron CEM40 (with tripod) | 18kg | 39% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| iOptron HEM44 | 20kg | 35% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| Pegasus Astro NYX-101 | 20kg | 35% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro | 20kg | 35% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| WarpAstron WD-20 | 20kg | 35% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| ZWO AM7 | 20kg | 35% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| Losmandy GM811G (LW tripod) | 22.7kg | 31% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| Celestron CGX | 25kg | 28% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| iOptron CEM70 (iPolar) | 31.8kg | 22% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| Sky-Watcher CQ350 Pro (with tripod) | 35kg | 20% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
| Sky-Watcher EQ8-R (head with counterweights) | 50kg | 14% | Headroom for a future upgrade |
What the 7.02 kg is made of
| Component | Mass | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| OTA: ZWO FF90 APO | 3.92kg | maker’s figure |
| Rings and dovetail | 0.90kg | assumption |
| Camera: QHY600M (standard, with CAA) | 0.85kg | maker’s figure |
| Filter drawer and filter | 0.20kg | assumption |
| Guide scope and guide camera | 0.80kg | assumption |
| Cables, dew strap, focuser motor | 0.35kg | assumption |
| Total | 7.02kg |
Assumptions are the Rig Reality Check’s round placeholders, not measurements; replace them with your own figures there.
Run the Rig Reality Check with the QHY600M (standard, with CAA) as yours, then give it your budget, sky and targets.
Sub length
The shortest sub at which read noise adds no more than 5 % to the stack's noise, from the Exposure Planner. Each figure opens the planner with the same inputs.
Not computedThis camera has no sensor profile (read noise against gain) in the catalogue.
Prices
Dated readings from the maker's store or a major US retailer, with the page each came from. A first-year total needs a mount and the essentials, which the Rig Reality Check adds.
| Part | Price | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Telescope: ZWO FF90 APOProvisional | $999 | manufacturer, 2026-09-27OTA-only variant ("FF90 APO"); in stock |
| Camera: QHY600M (standard, with CAA)Provisional | $4,599 | retailer, 2026-10-12QHY600M-PH, the Photographic version QHY specifies at 17.5 mm + 6 mm CAA (SKU QHY-QHY600M-PH); in stock, 1 left |
Provisional rows have not yet had a second, human check against their source. The Rig Reality Check prices whole builds, essentials included.
How this is computed
scale["/px] = 206.265 × pixel[µm] / focal length[mm]
field[°] = 2 × atan(sensor side[mm] / (2 × focal length[mm])) × 180/π
sampling = seeing FWHM["] / scale["/px]
frame filled = max(major axis / field width, minor axis / field height)
utilization = Σ imaging mass[kg] / rated payload[kg]
shortest sub = R² / (e_sky × ((1 + p)² − 1)), p = 5 %Focal length is the telescope’s, times a corrector’s factor only where its maker states one. The image scale and field use the exact forms; the worked example shows the arithmetic. The sampling bands are the physics reference’s presentation choice, and every band is printed so the tradeoff can be read in full.
The payload sums every part on the saddle, the way the Rig Reality Check does, and the bands encode the 50 to 60 % imaging derate, which is forum practice rather than a maker’s figure. Spacing figures are the Backfocus Solver’s rows; sub lengths are the Exposure Planner’s.
Source: docs/03-physics-reference.md §§ 1, 3 and 4. Implemented in packages/physics (optics.ts, payload.ts, exposure.ts, scoring.ts), each with the reference's worked examples as unit tests.
Last updated Computed from the catalogue when the site is builtEvery camera on the ZWO FF90 APO