The evolution of the lead-acid and lithium-ion battery finally adds convenience to the revolution of affordable go-to mounts. By George Stallings The leaps between the technology of today versus that when I received an un-motorized equatorial 114-mm Newtonian reflector as a 10-year-old in 1988, are mind boggling. I would have […]
First introduced in 2009, APT stands for “Astro Photography Tool” and is the brainchild of Ivo Stoynov, who calls the software a “Swiss army knife for your astro imaging sessions.” The software draws upon the knowledge of many astro photographers from all over the world, as well as from the […]
Virtual Planets Atlas Version 2 (VPA Pro 2.0) is the second release since the software’s introduction in 2013. The tool allows users to study topographic and scientific data for planets and satellites surfaces. It is published by Christian Legrand, a lunar observer, and co-author of the guide “Discover the Moon” […]
Rigel Systems has introduced a new high-torque stepper motor kit for the William Optics Star 71 telescope, driven by a nFOCUS motor controller. Rigel’s stepper motor has 0.1-degree step size and easily lifts 8.0 pounds (3.6 kilograms). The stepper can be quickly detached for manual focusing. The nFOCUS controller fits […]
The 49th annual RTMC Astronomy Expo will again celebrate everything telescope from Thursday, May 25th through Monday, May 29th, 2017. The event will be held in the Big Bear City, California area and will celebrate “The Day the Sun Disappears.” RTMC provides the opportunity to: – See the stars from […]
Although Robert Schalck’s book, The Proper Care of Optics, Cleaning, Handling, Storage and Shipping, has been around for several years, we were recently reminded of it on a website forum post. Telescope optics are the heart and soul of any observing setup, yet they probably get the least amount of […]
For those looking for equipment to observe the 2017 Great American Eclipse in August, a group of companies have created a new website – Total Eclipse 2017 (TSE17.com) – to provide a one stop resource to purchase eclipse viewing equipment. Companies that are participating in the website include Lunt Solar […]
Guest News Announcement from Roger Rivers with iOptron As the nation’s premier astronomy exposition, the Northeast Astronomy Forum serves as an excellent venue to network with amateur and professional astronomers who utilize iOptron products. This past NEAF I had the pleasure to meet Dr. Josh Walawender, Support Astronomer at W. […]
AiryLab’s Genika Astro is an image acquisition software dedicated to astronomical imaging. It supports high-speed cameras, including those from Andor, AVT, Basler, IDS, PointGrey, Raptor Photonics, Celestron, The Imaging Source and ZWO. The company has announced two recent releases that significantly augment the functionality of the software. Genika Astro offers […]
First released in the Apple App Store December 2016, the Agile Autoguider is an iPhone app that corrects the mechanical guiding of your telescope to achieve high guiding precision. The iPhone is attached to the finder scope of your telescope and tracks a guide star via the rear camera. If […]
Gerd Neuman with Astronomik has announced that the company’s the new Clip-Filters for the Canon EOS M series are now available providing the ability to use Astronomik filters with your EOS M camera providing a very compact setup for imaging. The filters are optimized to be used with normal lenses […]
Tele Vue has announced the newest DeLite focal lengths are now available. Rounding out the series are focal lengths of 13-mm, 4-mm, and 3-mm. These new DeLites are parfocal with the current 18.2- mm, 15-mm, 11-mm, 9-mm, 7-mm, and 5-mm models. The DeLite 62-degree apparent field eyepieces were developed based […]