I have been involved with astronomy for a number of years and building my own artificial star came naturally. As in so many hobbies, there are countless gadgets and doodads that can make your astronomy setup, alignment, and viewing much more enjoyable. Unfortunately for most of us, without the benefit […]
By Dr. James R. Dire In 2017, I picked up two new William Optics telescopes: a Twentieth Anniversary Edition Fluorostar 132 (132-mm f/7 triplet Apo) and a William Optics Zenithstar 61. In a previous article, I reviewed the Fluorostar 132. Here, I will review the William Optics Zenithstar 61. The […]
By William E. Rison I needed an easily-removable focus motor for my Stellarvue SV80S and came up with the following design that uses a 12-volt DC motor, a wheel for building robots, a 3/4-inch x 3/8-inch x 7-inch section of aluminum bar, and a Vixen/Orion-style dovetail finder shoe. The basic […]
Ah the APM 82-mm 90-degree ED-Apo binoculars. Finding the right set of binoculars is like finding the right car. Or the right fast food hamburger. Or the right spouse. It can take a lot of trial-and-error, some near-misses, and some total junk, but in the end, if you persevere, sometimes, just […]
Astro Imaging Processing – I Want to Image the Skies, But Do I have to Process My Images? I used to think to myself, “Everything we see in the magazines and online (that isn’t sketched) shows processed images, but what is the big deal with all of this processing?” What […]
In understanding my approach towards creating SkyTools 4 Imaging, its worth considering how major professional observatories, such as ESO, use mathematical models of their telescope and instruments to plan their observations. It is useful to know the image scale, what exposure times to use, whether a star will bloom or […]
Barcelona Spain based AstronSCIENTIFIC, in collaboration with Tele Vue Optics and Optique Unterlinden of France, introduced the patented AstronSCIENTIFIC ROTARION SC, a universal motorized wheel for exchanging imaging devices remotely, at the Le Salon de L’astronomie at Rencontres du Ciel et de l’Espace 2018 in Paris France. The Rotarion SC […]
HOBYM Observatory is a South Korean based manufacturer of telescope mounts. It produces the Crux line of equatorial mounts which utilize a harmonic drive system. The latest addition to the mount line is the Crux Mini, an ultra-light -5.5 lbs (2.5kgs) mount that can carry payloads almost 4 times its […]
Astrel Instruments offers the AST16200B camera system which eliminates the need for a computer or smart device as it offers a built-in 1GHz microprocessor for stand-alone operation. The camera is based on 16-megapixal Monochrome or Color KAF-16200 CCD Sensor (class 2) and is equipped with an integrated 4 or 5 […]
The QHYCCD FY3 Filter Wheel is the company’s third generation filter wheel offering a new ultra-thin stepper motor drive and fully automatic filter switching. Instead of incorporating a PM stepper motor used in many filter wheels, the QHYCCD FY3 filter wheel hybrid stepper motor offers higher precision and a smaller […]
The ZWO ASIAIR offers camera control for most ZWO ASI cameras using your smart phone or tablet. It offers the ability for standalone guiding and imaging without the need of PC. The device can be used to control ZWO ASI USB 3.0 cameras, ASI cooled cameras, and ASI Mini cameras, […]
The Astronomik Clip Filter line now extends Sony and Nikon cameras. Astronomik Clip-Filter offerings are hugely popular with DSLR camera owners for astro imaging. Ingenious in their design, these custom-made filters fit inside the housing of the camera, just behind the lens or T-ring. No tools are necessary to use […]