In the absence of an observatory, typical viewing sessions require that I set up/tear down my scope du jour nearly every time. Though I have taken measures to ensure fairly consistent rough polar alignment, longer focal lengths and exposures necessitate some fine-tuning. My Celestron AVX and Losmandy G11G both have polar alignment […]
The team at Revolution Imager keep coming up with all kinds of nifty tools to make life easier. Their latest creation is their Right Handy Controller Heater Holder for the Celestron Evolution series of telescopes. As they say in the product description, if you love your Evolution series of Celestron […]
UK based Altair Astro now offers a Guide Scope to RACI Finder Conversion Kit that converts the latest model of the Altair MG60 Altair 60mm Guide Scope into a 10×60 RACI finder scope with illuminated reticule eyepiece. RACI means “Right Angled Correct Image” because the image in the eyepiece is […]
Explore Scientific’s USB Power Bank is the perfect accessory for those looking for a small, lightweight, 8.4 amp-hour, 12 V battery pack. With the Explore Scientific USB Power Bank with Red LED Flashlight, you will have power to spare for your telescope mount, smart devices, cameras or other equipment in […]
Editor’s Note: We are pretty sure that most of you reading this have received the same question, “What is the best holiday telescope for beginners?” And the information provided here is, as Sherlock Holmes would say is, “Elementary, my dear Watson.” The best telescope is for anyone is one that […]
In a recent post on the Sky and Telescope website, Dave Tosteson provides a tribute to Barbara Wilson, who passed away on the evening of September 24, 2019, after battling cancer for several months. As Tosteson writes, “Barbara was very well known in the amateur astronomy community as a dedicated […]
ASTRO CNC is a new maker of custom Dobsonian components including altitude bearings, mirror boxes, secondary cages, and more that are precision cut using CNC milling. They work with various materials including plywood, wood, plastic, and aluminum. Their products are designed to be easily assembled by the end user, which […]
StoneAgeTech is now offering a custom Planet Dial that functions much like a Sundial to help to show if a planet is observable in the night sky for the observer’s location. It also shows in which star constellation the planet can be found based on the length of a shadow […]
Blandin Platforms is a new company offering equatorial platforms for Dobsonian telescopes. The company’s new Crossbow equatorial platforms track for over 60 minutes before needing to be reset and run on 2 AAA batteries for 15+ hours of tracking. The platforms are very lightweight and portable, made from durable anodized […]
By Corky Pickering – This is a great time to be an amateur astronomer. There are lots of good telescopes out there that are relatively inexpensive. Back when I was a teenager, we had no internet, so there was no online shopping, and the telescope stores were few and far […]
Tele Vue has announced they are offering Tactical Night Vision TNV/PVS-14 L3 Gen3 Un-Filmed White Phosphor night vision monoculars packaged with complimentary Tele Vue accessories for astronomical observing. Night-vision devices (NVD) like the TNV/PVS-14 are optoelectronic devices that allow images to be viewed in levels of light approaching total darkness […]
Astronomics is celebrating 40 year offering telescopes and related equipment. To celebrate, they are giving away three Astro-Tech 102ED refractors valued at $599 each. According to Mike Bieler of Astronomics, “It has been a fantastic journey for my family over the past 40 years. I remember loading up in the […]