The Sun puts on a show for the ages

Ningaloo Total Eclipse - stunning images

Intro pricing on the new ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescope - save over $200 on orders placed by 30th April

New ZWO APO Refractors - free focal reducers for early bird orders

Meade ETX Returning in 2023 - Classic small, computerised telescopes back at BINTEL in the coming months

SpaceX Starship lifts off! - The largest rocket ever launched flies briefly

The Ningaloo Total Solar Eclipse - made by Lachlan Wilson and Matt Dodds. Lachlan was imaging with a Sharpstar 90mm on a AZEQ5 mount with a ZWO ASI533MC camera. Which Matt imaged with a Lunt 40mm Solar Telescope on a Sky-Watcher Heliofind Mount with a ZWO ASI174MM camera

The Sun and Moon put on a show in Western Australia - Amazing images and scenes from across the country.  

Apart from a small area in northern Western Australia, most of Australia only saw a partial eclipse.  Ralph Smith posted his image of the eclipse as seen from Warren, NSW to the BINTEL Society Facebook Group.  Ralph used a Lunt 100DS Solar Telescope and a ZWO ASI174MM camera.

In the moments while the Sun's disk was not fully covered by the Moon, large prominences can still be seen around the edge of the Sun.

Intro prices on the ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescope- save $200 for orders placed by the 30th of April 

We talked last week about the new ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescope that had just been announced at the NEAF astronomy expo in the USA. 

If you remember from the last issue, the ZWO Seestar S50 is a little all-in-one hi-tech telescope that combines a 50mm APO refractor, GOTO and tracking mount, camera and a stack of other goodies all controlled by a built-in ASIAIR computer.  ZWO have some of the best and easiest to use astro imaging and mount control software available, so we expect it be a very capable device.  

While it's suited for complete beginners who have never even touched a telescope before, we've found Smart Telescopes like the Seestar are equally at home with experienced astronomers who are after an occasional causal evening capturing the night sky. 

To celebrate the launch of the ZWO Seestar series, BINTEL are offering them at special price of $745 for orders placed before the 30th of April 2023. This is a saving of at least $200 on the normal price which from the 1st of May is likely be around $979.  ZWO are aiming to ship these new telescopes to BINTEL in July or August. 

There's several Smart Telescopes on the market and only BINTEL carries them all. Please feel free to have an unbiased chat with us about what would be the best model for you. 

John Mills from BINTEL checking out the ZWO Seestar S50 in detail last week

It was encouraging to hear from ZWO representative that they're taking onboard various comments and suggestions about the Seestar S50 on its release and might incorporate some of this feedback into production models.

You can place your early bird order to save $200 via the link below or call us on 02 9518 7255. 

Intro offers on the ZWO APO Telescopes - save hundreds with a free reducer for orders placed by the 30th of April 

ZWO FF65 APO Telescope

Also recently introduced by ZWO is their line of high-quality, affordable APO Refractor Telescopes. These are available in 65mm, 80mm, 107mm and 130mm aperture sizes.  These are ideal for astro imaging, suit full frame cameras and their sophisticated design provides an ultra-sharp flat field without the hassles of trying to calculate back focus.  

For orders received for ZWO APO telescopes placed with BINTEL by the 30th of April, ZWO is bundling in a free focal reducer, worth between $369 and $649 depending on the model you order. 

The little legends return - Meade ETX Telescopes are due back at BINTEL in the next few months.

A telescope range we get asked about constantly - the Meade ETX Series - will be returning to BINTEL in the second half of the year. 

This will be both the ETX 90 and EXT 125 models.  

These little computerised GOTO telescopes have been popular with astronomers of all levels of experience for many years. We're looking forward to having them back in stock again. Keep an eye on the BINTEL website for details.

Thanks to all the folks around the country who purchased Solar gear from us - time for the BINTEL packing elves to catch their breath

Thanks to everyone who ordered Solar gear leading up to the Ningaloo Eclipse, whether to view the Total Eclipse in northern Western Australia or a partial eclipse in other parts of Australia. 

We ended up shipping or packing for collection in-store several thousand eclipse glasses and solar filters as well as quite a few dedicated Solar telescopes.  

Giselle and Ig from BINTEL after getting the last of the Solar Eclipse gear out the door.

The next big Total Solar Eclipse in Australia occurs in 2028 and goes right over the top of Sydney. An event to mark in your calendars. The countdown has started - we can't wait!

SpaceX Starship launches - a "brief" flight

The first launch of the SpaceX Starship took place in the USA early on the morning of the 20th of April local time.  The rocket lifted off with over twice the power of the Saturn V that took the Apollo astronauts to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s.

Starship lifts off the pad for a brief flight. 

You might have seen that Starship went through what SpaceX officially describes as a "'Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly" (RUD) or as we at BINTEL call it "Kinematic Atmospheric Ballistic Orbital Overload Manoeuvre" (KABOOM).

In other words, it blew up shortly after launch.  While the explosion of such a huge rocket would seem a disaster, the brief mission provided valuable, real-world engineering data that will be used to refine future space vehicles. SpaceX blew up a lot of their earlier rockets which are now reliable launch platforms. 

SpaceX are planning the next Starship launch "in a few months". More via the link below. 

Next time..Did someone say whale watching?