Why the date of Easter differs from year to year - and when it falls on for the next 5 years

Dew Control Part II - dew heaters and controllers

Easter Special - free shipping on ZWO Cameras

Autumn Galaxies -galaxies in the sky ahead of Milky Way season

A Quality Red and White LED Headlamp- Ideal for astronomers

Lefty Wright posted his image of NGC 6729, often called The Anteater Nebula, to the BINTEL Society Facebook group. Lefty used a BINTEL GSO RC6 telescope, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount and other accessories all purchased from us. A stunning result!  For the full post - click here

Why does the date of Easter differ from year to year? It's to do with the Full Moon after the Equinox  

The Full Moon - via the Planetary Society

As you would know, the date on which Easter is celebrated in Australia changes from year to year.  It's not on a regular schedule, but rather determined by Moon phases. 

The simplest way to work out the date Easter falls on is that's the Sunday after the first Full Moon after the northern hemisphere Spring Equinox. On the years when this Full Moon falls on a Sunday, we celebrate Easter on the following Sunday.

In case you've never noticed, there's always a Full Moon in the sky in the week leading up to Easter. 

(Just to add to the complication, the Eastern Christian churches calculate the date of Easter using the Julian calendar, while countries with Western Christian holidays including Australia use the Gregorian calendar. This results in Easter celebrations falling on different dates on most years.)

The dates the Easter long weekend falls on in Australia for the next five years are:

• 31st March 2024
• 20th April 2025
• 5th April 2026
• 28th March 2027
• 16th April 2028

Regardless of how you're celebrating this long weekend, we hope you stay safe and take care, especially if traveling on our roads. 

As a reminder, BINTEL is open on Easter Saturday, the 8th of April 2023 from 9.30am to 4.00pm and closed on the Monday public holiday, the 10th of April 2023. 

Dew control part 2 - Dew heaters and controllers

A couple of issues ago we mentioned due shields as being a way to help stop dew forming on your telescope's optics.   (You can view that edition of our newsletter here. )

While dew shields help enormously, often conditions mean you need to slightly heat the telescope's optic to avoid dew forming. 

The actual temperature at which dew forms - called the "dew point" - relies on a combination of factors including temperature, atmospheric pressure, and humidity.  There's no one single temperature at any location at which dew forms.  

A Kendrick dew strap

The aim of a dew heater is to keep the temperature of your telescope's optics just slightly above this point.  The various heater elements mightn't even be warm to the touch. As long they're keeping things warm enough to stop dew, they're doing their job! 

There are two elements to dew heater systems. The dew heater controller which provides electrical current, and the dew heater element or band.

A Celestron Dew Controller

A dew controller not only provides the power to the dew heater, but also controls the current so your telescope's optics are just above the dew point.  Too much heat means excessive battery drain and possible tube currents. Think of it as being like the dial on your electric blanket. There are some nights you need it turned all the way up and other times it only needs to be slightly warm. 

Dew heater straps are available to suit a wide range of telescopes, eyepieces, and cameras.  There's an extensive range of dew control options specifically for Celestron telescopes as well as almost any other type. 

The combination of dew shields and dew heaters will keep the moisture away from your telescope throughout the night regardless to how damp the night is.

Free Shipping on ZWO Cameras - save on the world's most popular astronomy cameras.

All ZWO Cameras at BINTEL now have free shipping to all parts of Australia.

The ZWO ASI432MM Mono Camera at BINTEL - part of just a wide range available

BINTEL has a complete range of ZWO astronomy cameras for both planetary and deep-sky astrophotography. We know there are quite a few options and it's worth spending a few minutes to make sure you have the best ZWO camera for your requirements.  Have a chat to BINTEL on 02 9518 7255 or check out what cameras and telescopes work well together via the BINTEL online calculator

A Quality Red and White LED Headlamp - Ideal for astronomers

BINTEL now has in stock the new Astro Night V-340 headlamp.

This has been setup for astronomers, providing just the right level of red light for adjusting equipment in the dark. It also has a white LED lamp. 

They recharge via USB and provide about a 12-hour running time. Plus, they're only $45.95.

Charging devices from an Astro Night White LED lamp - works as a USB power bank

Speaking of Astro Night LED Lamps, they also work well as USB power banks for charging devices like phones and tablets. 

There's nothing worse than your device going flat when you're in the middle of an observing session, especially when you're using it to navigate the night sky!

Highlights in the sky this week - Some southern galaxies in the night sky

A number of beautiful galaxies are riding high in our skies as the weather starts to get cold. 

NGC 5128, often called the Hamburger Galaxy, captured with a Unistellar eVscope

The summer months under the Southern night skies are spectacular, but there's nothing quite like the cooler, winter months as we face the centre of our own Milky Way Galaxy. We'll be covering that shortly, but here's some galaxies you can observe and photograph in the coming weeks.  You can find them using a sky atlas such as Stellarium. All of these galaxies and many more are visible in small telescopes. 

NGC 5128 Discovered in 1826 from Parramatta outside of Sydney, its most noticeable feature is the dark dust lane seen visually telescopes. This is a complex galaxy, thought to be the merger of at least two smaller galaxies.  

NGC 5236 (M83), sometimes called the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy we see face on. It's located about 15 million light years away. The bright "knots" in the spiral arms in this galaxy which are seen in photos are rich, star forming areas. 

Large (LMC) and Small (SMC) Magellanic Clouds These appear as two detached patches of the Milky Way and are easily visible to your eye alone on Moonless nights away from city lights.  They're actually the two largest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. In the same way planets in the Solar System including the Earth have satellites we refer to as "moons", it is common for large galaxies to have the same. The Milky Way has around 59 smaller galaxies surrounding it - some of which might even be satellites of satellite galaxies!

Thanks for the feedback on the DWARF II birdwatching  - Now back in stock

Thanks for the comments on the info in last week's newsletter about the DWARF II Smart Telescope for birdwatching and nature photography.  Based on this we've posted some more information and same sample images. Click on the link below for more. 

A short video of a European green woodpecker taken with a DWARF II by Michael Merrifield. We’re looking forward to featuring videos of Australian birdlife in the near future!

Next time...Get ready for Milky Way season and a deep dive into some of the newly released James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) images  

Another teaser for high tech gizmos that will shake up the way we view small things. They're going to start at just $199.95 as well. Pop into BINTEL to check them out. Full updates on major this major release soon...