Another comet?  - but you'll have to wait until 2024 to see it!

Unistellar eQuinox reduced - our best offer on this fully computerised astro imaging telescope

Astro Night - quality red-light torches and accessories now at BINTEL

Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi - keeps getting better + now with free BINTEL DSLR mounting kit

Australia's first female astronaut - Katherine Bennell-Pegg heads off to train for the ISS

Thanks for your feedback on this BINTEL Newsletter - handy suggestions received

What's in the night sky this week

Joe Perulero sent us his image of the Witch head Nebula (IC 2118) taken from Albion Park NSW.  Joe used a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTI mount carrying a ZWO ASI533MC camera and a Samyang135mm F2 lens 

What? *Another* comet in the news? - It might be spectacular, but we'll need to wait until 2024 to find out.

Predicted path of C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in 2024. Image via University of Arizona/ CSS/ D. Rankin.

Comets are back in the news! Astronomers have spotted another comet, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), heading in from the outer Solar System. We'll know more about it in the second half of 2024, with its closest approach to Earth on the 13th of Oct of that year.

While it has the potential to be spectacular around then, there's just not enough data currently on this comet to make firm predictions about how it will appear. As we've commented previously, the behaviour of any particular comet is notoriously hard to forecast. 

Stay tuned!

Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi + tripod bundle reduced to $1149 - now includes the BINTEL DSLR attachment kit

Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi kit $1149 including a BINTEL DSLR attachment kit

One of our favourite small telescope mounts keeps getting better - We're impressed with the steady improvements made by Sky-Watcher to their Star Adventurer GTi mount. Some of our BINTEL customers are getting great astro imaging results with it.  (Such as the one directly above!)

We now have the Star Adventurer GTi mount and tripod bundled together for $1149. 

We're now including with all new Star Adventurer GTi mounts a BINTEL 3D printed DSRL attachment kit. Unlike previous Star Adventurer models like the 2i, the GTi mount doesn't connect directly with DSRL camera bodies. You will need an accessory like this one to mount a DSLR camera.  If you'd like to order one separately, click on the link below.

Astro Night Astronomy Torches - Now at BINTEL

A new range of premium astronomy torches and accessories from Australian supplier, Astro Night, are now in stock at BINTEL.

Every astronomer needs a decent red-light torch, and the ones from Astro Night are some of the best we've seen.  They're adjustable, have long battery life, great connectivity and some have work as a USB power bank. We've worked with the Astro Night folks to make sure they have appropriate light levels for astronomers. 

We even like how the colours for each torch are inspired by different classes of stars.

Plus they're only $89!  

Unistellar eVscope eQuinox - Now $4,750 including a free backpack

BINTEL have reduced the price of the popular Unistellar eVscope eQuinox and for the next 10 of these amazing telescopes going to new homes, their owners will receive a Unistellar Backpack/carry case worth $799.

As you might have seen, the Unistellar eVscope eQuinox is a completely computerised telescope for taking astro photographs. Every part of the eQuinox's operation from finding astro objects to photographing them is controlled by a single app on your phone or iPad/tab. It's a hassle-free way to capture the night sky.  Some of our customers who are complete beginners are showing us deep-sky astro photos they've taken with smart telescopes like Unistellar after only using them for a few nights.

You can observe on your own, in a group or even contribute to global astronomy and space science research projects. More details about The Unistellar network are here. 

Unistellar backpack/carry case worth $799 free with the next 10 Unistellar eVscope eQuinox telescopes sold by BINTEL

Australia's first woman astronaut - Katherine Bennell-Pegg heads off to train for the Interational Space Station

Congratulations to the Director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, who is the first Australian born woman to be accepted for astronaut training by a national space agency

She was one of only 25 people to complete the program, from 22,500 eligible applicants. She’s worked in 6 countries and has over 12 years' experience as a space systems engineer.  After completing the more than yearlong training in mid-2024, Katherine will receive basic training certification which is needed for flying on the International Space Station (ISS). 

“I want to use this experience to open doors for Australian scientists and engineers to utilise space for their discoveries, to inspire the pursuit of STEM careers, and show all Australians that they too can reach for the stars.” Ms. Bennell-Pegg commented. You can read more about her appointment from the link below. 

In the sky this week - Orion is slipping away for the winter.

The view from Sydney next in the middle of March around 10pm.

March sees what's probably the most dominant constellation of the southern hemisphere Summer sky - Orion  - start to dip below the horizon earlier and earlier in the evening. 

There's much to discover in Orion, and M42 or The Orion Nebula but has been a popular object for both astrophotographers and visual observers for centuries. 

The two brightest stars in Orion are also strikingly different in colours.  Alpha Orionis or Betelgeuse is a striking red and the second brightest, Beta Orionis or Rigel shine bright white.  Next week we'll be touching on why stars are different colours and what this tells us about their lifecycles. 

Thanks for the feedback - Some handy suggestions received

Thanks to all of our readers who took a spare moment to fill out last week's BINTEL Newsletter survey. We really appreciate your support.  A common thread among the suggestion was more "what's up on sky" and more space news.  You'll certainly be seeing more of these in coming weeks. 

We'll leave the survey up for another week or so if you'd like to add your own feedback. 

Ningaloo Eclipse Countdown is on - Happening next month!!

The Ningaloo Solar Eclipse is on next month. Click on the link below to visit the BINTEL countdown page.  While the total eclipse will only be visible in a very narrow part of Western Australia, it will be visible as a partial eclipse across a large part of Australia. 

Visit the BINTEL Countdown from the link below. We'll be going into Solar Eclipses in more details as it gets closer.