Mounting a DSLR to a telescope?

How do I do it? I have a Nikon D3100 and will hopefully soon have a half decent motorised telescope. So what do I need to be able to take pictures down it.

I have researched this a little and can't seem to get anyway with it, so far I have found out that I will need a mount of some sort (a T-Mount I think). My Nikon says F mount on the front of the chip cover thingy.

Is this all I need or do I need something that goes from the T-Mount to the telescope/camera?
Also is the T-Mount the right adaptor for my camera?

Well, … There are four ways to mount a DSLR to a motorized scope.

1) Piggy-Backed - on the decent motorized scopes there are two mounting holes for a camera mount. You have to by the camera mount and then you can screw the camera onto the back of the scope just like you would to a tripod.

2) Prime Focus, the camera is mounted to the Camera body like an very long telephoto lens. For this you will need a T-mount. The T-mount (or T-ring) will need to to fit your particular camera mount and should screw into the end of your scope.

3) Eyepiece projection - The same as prime focus except you buy a tele-extender. Fit your eyepiece into the scope (e.g. 26mm plossl), screw the tele-extender over the eye-piece, and screw the T-mount into the other end of the tele-extender.

4) You can also buy a device known as a "flip mirror" with allows you to mount your camera to the scope and an eyepiece in the top. It aids in keeping you camera focused.

See the links below for suggested adapters. You will need to choose the adapaters that are right for your scope and camera configuration.

Many "motorised telescopes" are totally incapable of being used for astrophotography. Any sort of long-exposure astrophotography requires a heavy-duty equatorial mount costing $1000 and up -- that's for the mount alone, no telescope.

Before you make some expensive mistakes, I'd recommend buying the latest edition of Dickinson & Dyer's Backyard Astronomer's Guide. It has several excellent chapters on all aspects of astrophotography by two of the best guys around.