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Posts Tagged 'orion'
“Hot Product 2018” by Sky & Telescope
February 9 2018, Stefan Taube
At the beginning of each new year, the magazine Sky & Telescope features interesting product developments. The criteria are innovation, an elegant solution to a typical problem, or the particularly high quality of a product.
We would like to present from this long list of “Hot Products 2018” those that we also considered to be particularly noteworthy:
Explore Scientific GoTo control PMC-8 with WIFi
The company, Explore Scientific, has developed a control system that, in conjunction with the app, ExploreStars, enables wireless control of astronomical mounts via a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device. You will receive this control system in combination with two tried and tested mounts with completely different load-bearing capacity, namely:
- the relatively small mount Bresser EXOS-2
- and the heavy mount, Losmandy G-11
Stargate Dobsons by Skywatcher
For the purists who would rather invest in optics than in electronics, the Skywatcher Dobsonian N 458/1900 StarGate-450P telescope is a dream! The Dobsonian telescope with truss tube, mirrors and a lightweight construction collects a great deal of light, but despite its size, it is still relatively easy to transport.
Sky&Telescope awarded both motorized Stargate versions with GoTo control:
- Skywatcher Dobson N 458/1900 Stargate-450P Synscan GoTo telescope
- Skywatcher Dobson N 508/2000 Stargate-500P Synscan GoTo telescope
They are equipped with the tried and tested SynScan control system, which helps you to find celestial objects and then automatically guides the telescope.
Mini Star Adventurer by Skywatcher
Camera mounts have taken a positive development in recent years. Thanks to the high demand for this very immediate method of astrophotography, manufacturers are always coming up with new innovations. Sky & Telescope awarded the Mini Star Adventurer by Skywatcher. This mount also creates its own WIFI, so it can be controlled via the app. This eliminates the need for a manual control box; control is done wirelessly – and thus vibration-free – and the clear graphic user interface can be used for adjusting your mobile device.
Things that make the life of astronomers easier and lovelier
The many smaller things on which Sky & Telescope has bestowed the Hot Product Award 2018, include the Astro Lamp by Orion, which, of course, can also be operated with glare-free red light. The editors of the magazine also like:
- Diagonal mirror with TwistTight fixation for 1,25″ and 2″ connector diameter, also by Orion. This special fixation centres the accessory, keeps it secure, won’t scratch, and can be screwed in place while wearing gloves.
- The “bible” for one of the most powerful astrophotography programs Inside PixInsight by Springer Verlag. The book is available in English, and is very popular. The book is published in the Practical Astronomy
- Sky & Telescope has also awarded its own Globes. At least for the Pluto Globe, this is most justified. The globe shows the spectacular view of the dwarf planet, Pluto, as the New Horizons spacecraft revealed in 2015.
Mount and accessories for observatories
We can help you with advice and support for your observatory project. This also includes the high-end products by Software Bisque. So, we are pleased that Sky & telescope has awarded the recently developed bracket mountings, Paramount Taurus.
The Spanish company, Lunático, is making a useful accessory for observatories. Its remote control, Dragonfly, has made it to the list of Hot Products 2018.
Every year, it is interesting to see what products the well-known magazine, Sky & telescope, will award – and we are pleased that every year, these award-winning products are already part of our offer.
New: Pro camera by ZWO and more accessories for astrophotographers
December 8 2017, Stefan Taube
We would like to present to you a small selection of items that we included in the range recently:
The ASI 1600 series is the favourite model range by ZWOptical. The ASI 1600 cameras have a relatively large sensor and a small pixel size. There are, therefore, models without cooling that are used mainly by planet photographers and DeepSky cameras that can be used by anyone. We offer the cooled models in a set with special filters and a filter wheel.
The spearhead of this model range is the new ASI 1600 MM Pro Mono. It is ideal for astrophotographers who want to capture faint nebulae with exposures lasting for hours. The incorporated 256 MB of buffer memory provides loss-free transfer even with USB 2.0.
If you want to take exposures of several minutes, you should think about tracking control. With this procedure called autoguiding, the mount must run in a controlled fashion because the camera mount must always be exactly oriented towards the desired area of the sky for the shot to be successful. A separate camera is mostly used with its own optics for autoguiding. The camera continually follows a star and gives control impulses to the mount if the star moves.
Thanks to sensitive camera sensors with a high resolution, these autoguiders can be made to be compact. A very well-made example is the new set from the camera StarShoot AutoGuider Pro Mono and the Ultra-Mini Guidescope by Orion.
Newton telescopes are very popular with amateur astronomers because they cost relatively little money and can gather a large amount of light. As with any optical design, Newton telescopes suffer from image aberrations. On the edge of the field of view, the stars are exploded forming a “comet”. What are referred to as coma aberrations are particularly noticeable in astrophotography. The manufacturer Baader-Planetarium offers an excellent coma corrector that is also included in the set with the matching adapters: Baader MPCC V-1 Mark III Newton coma corrector The special feature of this coma corrector is that it does not increase the focal length of the optics. There is as much light as without the corrector, so that the exposure time does not have to be increased.
About the Newton telescope: We now offer padded carrying bags by Oklop. They are made so a specific telescope fits perfectly and can be transported securely without taking up a lot of space.
We offer, for example, bags for the Newton telescope 150/750, Newton telescope 150/1000 or the Celestron telescope SC 1100. Other bags by Oklop can be found here.
New: Improvement to the Orion-Dobsons and the Skywatcher EQ-5, new QHY camera and apos by William Optics!
October 27 2017, Stefan Taube
We would like to present to you a small selection of items that we included in the range recently:
1.Orion Dobson telescope N 254/1200 SkyQuest XT10 PLUS
Dobson telescopes with 10-inch aperture by Orion are, of course, nothing new. Orion now offers its 10-inch in an improved PLUS version.
New features:
- Friction brake for the height axis. This enables the use of heavy eyepieces.
- Filters for observing the sun in safety.
- Crayford focuser with reduction for fine focusing.
- 2″ wide-angle eyepiece and Barlow lens
- Eyepiece tray
With the XT10 PLUS you will receive an easy-to-use telescope with small improvements for even better performance and more fun during your observation sessions!
There is also an 8-inch Dobson by Orion in this improved version: XT8 PLUS.
2. Skywatcher mount AZ-EQ-5-GT SynScan GoTo
The AZ-EQ-5 mount by Skywatcher is actually not new. You will receive this mount immediately with a classic tripod as you known it with other mounts. Until now, Skywatcher delivered the mount with a column where the tripod legs didn’t fit right under the mount. This tripod was very compact for carrying, but not as sturdy as the classic tripod.
The AZ-EQ-5 mount is a real all-purpose mount that can take up to 15 kg: It is very light to carry and can be operated in either equatorial or azimuthal position, so for either astrophotography or for simple observation.
The mount is, thanks to the toothed belt drive, relatively light and fitted with the latest version of the SynScan computer control system.
3. William Optics apochromatic refractor AP 61/360 ZenithStar 61
Are there any astrophotographers who don’t dream of an apo by William Optics? With the ZenithStar series you will receive a lens telescope in William-Optics quality at a fair price!
The small optics with an aperture ratio of f/5.9 weigh less than 1.5 kg and can be combined with a photo mount. You will receive a light, compact system for travel with which you will achieve amazing wide-angle shots of nebula regions of the Milky way – all that’s missing is the suitable flattener and a DSLR camera.
4. ALccd-QHY camera 9c Colour
We are constantly extending our range of cameras by ALccd-QHY. We have recently added the the 9c Colour camera. It has a Kodak KAF-8300 sensor: 8.9 megapixels with a 22.5 mm diagonal and 5.4 µm pixels.
The most important information;
- The chip is fitted with microlenses.
- The active cooling with a larger fan cools down the camera to 50 °C under the ambient temperature.
- The 32 MB SDRAM buffer ensures a quiet transfer of the images.
This camera meets the high requirements of advanced astrophotographers.