Getting Technical with the Horizon II

Following the recent announcement on our new camera, the Horizon II, we have seen lots of interest from astronomers excited to get to grips with the next generation of our first ever CMOS camera and explore its technical capabilities.

Whilst it maintains the elements which made the original Horizon such a great camera, Horizon II also adds improved electronics and an increased variety of options. This is a result of the extensive work that our in-house R&D team have done, which has culminated in the evolution from the much loved camera of the original Horizon into one of the most versatile cameras available in the Horizon II which is suitable for both deep sky and planetary imaging due to its various modes.

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Horizon II technical specifications

Due to the popularity of the original Horizon, many of the technical specifications have been only slightly adapted to allow for existing Horizon users to experience a smooth transition to the next generation camera. The full technical specifications of the Horizon II are listed below:

• Sensor Type: Panasonic MN34230 4/3″ CMOS
• Horizontal Resolution: 4644 pixels
• Vertical Resolution: 3506 pixels
• Pixel Size: 3.8 µm x 3.8 µm
• ADC: 12 bit
• Readout Noise: ~1e- at x30 gain
• Gain Factor: Variable 1 – x60
• Full Well: ~20,000e-
• Dark Current: 0.016 e-/pix/s at -10°C
• Interface: USB 2.0 or USB 3.0
• Power: 12v DC 2A
• Maximum Exposure Length: Unlimited
• Minimum Exposure Length: 18µs
• Cooling: Thermoelectric set point with max ΔT=>-40°C
• Weight: approx. 525g
• Backfocus: 13mm ±0.5
• Thread on front: M42x0,75
• Available as mono or colour

The Horizon II is now available to purchase here.