How to view telescope thru PC ?

Hi there
Anyone give me info on how to connect Celestron 6se to a laptop so that the kids can view whats coming thru the scope? Is there a special webcam you can get and can they take stills ?
What sort of cost is involved ? If I got a digital SLR body to fit the OTA could that be used to view the heavens 'live' ?

Thanks - appreciate any info or links to this subject

Chris

What you're looking for is an electronic eyepiece or a CCD camera that provides streaming video. Some of the common CCDs include the Celestron NexImage Solar System Imager, Meade Lunar & PLanetary Imager, Meade Deep Sky Imager, Acuter Digital Imager. Analog electronic eyepieces typically output an NTSC TV signal, which is a bit of a problem here in Europe.

You should be able to find something practical for between €100 and €200. Check with Andy McCrae of North Down Telescopes if you want a range of options and prices or browse the websites of popular retailers. Be aware that the Astronomy Shop in Dublin specialises in Celestron products and may have a limited range.

You can use a webcam for the planets and the moon, a camcorder will also work for the moon. A digital SLR camera will not work for video.
For anything beyond the planets and moon, you're talking about expensive cameras.
If you are buying a webcam/camera for this, do shop around, find a model and look it up in several shops on the web.

You could also use the Meade DSI, LPI or Celestron's equivalent offerings. They're a little more expensive than webcams but the DSI is a true CCD imager.

Conns Cameras in Dublin sell Celestron gear. Andy McCrae oop North sells Meade.

Another possibility is the PC Ocular from our friends at Bresser who provide Lidl with all those bargains: www.meade.de/en/products/telescopes/tele...is&actid=4959000 . USB connection, software provided. RRP €79 Euro in Germany, should be possible to buy online.

John
This bit of kit looks promising, both for comfortable inside viewing but also as a feed to a capture program for later image processing.

Ideally though I think it needs some sort of black box with a USB socket that it could plug into at the telescope. The black box would need to support a wireless link to allow a wireless connection back to an indoor PC.

The power supply issue could probably be solved by a small battery pack.

Has anyone any suggestions for such a solution?