Backlit prints for astrophotography are available from Wa-chur-ed Observatory in a number of sizes. As Greg Marshall, owner of Wa-chur-ed Observatory, notes: “Images printed on paper can never have a contrast ratio of more than 100:1, while our eyes can handle ratios of 10,000:1 or more (the exact number is […]
Solar Filters for telescopes, binoculars, and cameras are important for two reasons: to protect equipment from intense sunlight and to ensure that you don’t accidentally look at the Sun through an unfiltered instrument. This week on the Sky-Watcher USA What’s Up? Webcast, the Sky-Watcher team discusses the best ways to […]
Sharpstar reducers and flatteners are custom designed and built to work with Sharpstar imaging telescopes. Here is a rundown of the available products. Sharpstar 140PH reducer 0.74x Reducer and Flattener Designed to work with the Sharpstar 140PH apochromatic triplet refractor, the Sharpstar 0.74x Reducer and Flattener produces a flat field […]
The Vespera telescope is the latest offering from Vaonis, a French start-up. The company launched the Vespera (a mini version of its Stellina telescope launched in 2018) in October on Kickstarter. It is a hybrid between a smart telescope and a camera that is priced at a $999US (the Stellina […]
Observing Mars is a favorite pastime of amateur astronomers who are planetary observers. This week on the Sky-Watcher USA What’s Up? Webcast, the Sky-Watcher team discusses the best ways to observe Mars, including what are the equipment options to do so. The What’s Up? is a live webcast held every […]
The ZWO Filter Drawer for EOS Lens was created to work with ZWO ASI cooled cameras and an EOS lens. A 2″ mounted filter will fit securely in the drawer for use during astrophotography sessions. The ZWO Filter Drawer pairs with ZWO ASI cooled cameras that have a 17.5mm back […]
The Sharpstar SCA260 is an aspherical Cassegrain with a short focal ratio. The fact that the primary mirror is aspherical means that it has a high grinding difficulty for production and its testing requirements can be more complex than some traditional primary mirror types. The primary and secondary mirrors are […]
The new GM 2000 HPS II COMBI mount from 10Micron combines the stability of the company’s GM2000 HPS II Monolith mount with the portability of the company’s GM 2000 HPS II Ultraport mount. These two mounts are no longer being produced and will be replaced by the GM 2000 HPS II COMBI successor model. This […]
Sequence Generator Pro (SGP) is releasing an upgrade to its software platform with its introduction of SGP4 automation software for astrophotography. With SGP you can sequence and coordinate all of your gear in order to make the most of your time under dark skies. The software suite will control your […]
The Pocket Sky Atlas from Sky & Telescope has been released in its second edition. The first edition was released in 2006 and it quickly became a popular resource for amateur astronomers. The Pocket Sky Atlas is available in standard and jumbo sized version which are identical in content and only differ […]
B&D Astro Accessories is a new company offering astronomy accessories including counterweights and dovetails. The owners and operators, Larry Beatty and Mike Dennis, have been avid amateur astronomers for over 50 years and bought Robin Casady Astro Accessories to form the new company. According to the Mike and Larry, “Robin’s […]
ASCOM Alpaca for FocusLynx is now available through Optec’s FocusLynx Alpaca driver v3.50. With the release of ASCOM Platform 6.5 Optec has released Alpaca drivers and software for FocusLynx and ThirdLynx controllers. Installer packages for Windows, Raspberry Pi, Linux and Mac are available. Optec’s Daniel Van Noord has been working […]