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Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) still on track to be visible with your eyes - quick viewing guide
More Celestron telescopes for viewing Saturn - What's the difference between NexStar SE and Evolution models
Astrozap Dew Shields - USA made dew control now at BINTEL
BINTEL Gift Cards for Father's Day - Some gift ideas too
Thanks SASI! - we had some great nights last weekend
Space News - Russian crash site spotted plus more
Magnetic loops on the edge of the Sun's disk as it faces us and a close up of sunspots AR3413 and AR3415, captured by Ralph Smith with his Lunt 100 Solar Telescope on Sunday 27th Of Aug 2023, and posted to the BINTEL Society Facebook page. You can read the full post, along with other images here.
To be featured, you can send us your Astro and Nature images here or post them the BINTEL Society Facebook Group. Join 1.5k fellow astronomy and nature fanatics!
Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) still on track to be visible with your eyes - quick viewing guide
Comet Nishimura might still be visible with just your eyes in the coming days
The view Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) from Sydney on the 3rd September just before dawn. Image via TheLiveSky
We talked last week about Comet Nishimura which is heading towards the inner Solar System. It *might* become visible with just your eyes as it gets closer to us.
The orbital path of Comet Nishimura. Image via JPL-Horizons
It is already visible just before dawn in the Eastern sky - you will need a pair of binoculars like these $175 Celestron SkyMaster 12 x 60 to view it. We'll include more details next week, but you can keep track of Comet Nishimura using websites like
The details included in the link are for Sydney. Remember to set your own location!
More Celestron telescopes for viewing Saturn - What's the difference between NexStar SE and Evolution model
With Saturn being at its best for the year and the largest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter, getting ready to shine at its brightest in the late spring and early summer sky, it's a good idea to go over the main differences in some ideal telescopes for viewing the planets.
The Celestron NexStar series have been among the most popular telescopes for astronomers for many years - and for many good reasons!
First of all, you might have seen the barrel-like subby tube of these types of telescopes. Just about all of the Celestron NexStar series are a type of Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope (SCT). Have a chat with BINTEL if you'd like to dive deeper into these telescopes, but they offer great light gathering ability and long focal lengths which is essential for viewing planets.
All Celestron NexStar telescopes like the NexStar 5SE come with a fully computerised GOTO mount and tripod.
Celestron NexStar 5SE - now $1699 at BINTEL. Tripod included
Once the NexStar 5SE is set up, you select an astro object in the NexStar's extensive database using the hand controller. This could be a planet, nebula, star cluster or galaxy. The telescope will then automatically move to or GO TO your selection and then will track it through the night while you observe or take astro photos.
The Celestron NexStar Evolution telescopes are in fact, an evolution of the original SE range.
There's a number of very handy upgrades and these all relate to the mount and not the telescope itself.
This means what you see through say a NexStar 5 SE and an Evolution 5 will be the same.
The first upgrade is the addition of Wi-Fi as standard. This lets you control your Celestron NexStar Evolution telescope using a wide range of apps on your phone or tablet. (This feature can be added to the NexStar SE range with a $250 Celestron SkyPortal dongle.) Telescopes with Wi-Fi don't require you to have a mobile phone signal for them to work. They don't need an Internet or 4G/5G connection and will work just fine if you take them on a camping trip somewhere in the bush.
The Celestron Evolution telescopes also have a chargeable lithium-iron phosphate battery built into the base. You charge it up much like your notebook computer and n take it out for a night's observing. (The NexStar SE telescope either run off AA batteries or external 12v power supply.
Finally, the Evolution mount is sturdier than the SE mount. This means steadier images when observing or photographing. The Evolution mount is a smidge heavier, but we've found the addition hand-holds make it even easier to move around in the dark.
Overall, very handy improvements!
Celestron NexStar 4SE - Excellent value telescope pathway into computerised observing
BINTEL has the fully computerised Celestron NexStar 4SE in stock for $1249
Celestron NexStar 4SE - $1249 - including tripod
The smallest and most affordable member of the Celestron NexStar range, the 4SE is also in stock. It has the same computerised mount and tripod as the NexStar 5SE with a slightly smaller optical tube. The 4SE is also highly recommended for the brightest planets as they rise in the evening Eastern sky at the moment and makes a great deep-sky observing companion too.
Astrozap Dew Shields - USA made dew control now at BINTEL
Dew on your telescope is not just a winter problem.
There's still plenty of dew about even as we head into spring. To help keep dew away from your telescope and keep you observing longer into the evening, BINTEL now has Astrozap dew shields in stock
These are designed to attach securely around the front of your telescope and are available in a range of sizes to fit selected Celestron and Meade telescopes, including the NexStar 5SE and Evolution 5 models mentioned above.
BINTEL Gift Cards for Father's Day - Some gift ideas too
BINTEL Gift Cards are always a popular Father's Day present.
These can be for any amount from $25 up and can be used both in person at the BINTEL retail shop or at our online store.
BINTEL has lots of gift ideas including:
Annals of the Deep Sky Vol 8 - $75
Nikon Aculon 10 x 42 Binoculars - $159
Plus lots more!
Thanks SASI! - we had some great nights last weekend
BINTEL were delighted to assist with the public open nights held last weekend on the 25th and 26th 2023 by the Sutherland Astronomical Society (SASI)
M57 - the Ring Nebula - captured by a Vaonis Vespera in just 35 mins at the SASI open night among the keen observers and smoke from the BBQ of the hard-working volunteers who fed the more than 1,000 space and astronomy fans who attended over the two nights.
John and Earl tag teamed over the Fri and Sat, and we thrilled to see so many folks keen to look through telescopes and learn about the Universe swirling about our heads. An event to put in the diary for 2024 if you're in Sydney.
The BINTEL 2023 Astrophotographer of the Year Competition - Entries are now rolling in
The annual BINTEL Astrophotographer of the year competition has kicked off.
We've stared to receive entries for BINTEL 2023 Astrophotographer of the Year competition we launched last week.
It's a great way to stretch your astro imaging skills and learn as you go along. We're always happy to chat about questions or queries and the various friendly BINTEL online communities are always keen to help out.
To learn more and enter the competition, click on the link below
Russian Luna 25 Cash spotted -Seen by NASA's LRO
Animation showing the suspected crash site of the Russia Luna 25 spacecraft. Image via NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University
We mentioned last week that while India's ISRO Chandrayaan-3 Moon rover successfully touched down on the Moon, the Russian Luna 25 mission was not so lucky.
Now it looks like the Luna 25 crash site has been spotted by NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter). More via the link below.
New America Military Website - UAP reporting site now live
We covered in a newsletter late last year news that NASA was formally studying the topic of UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena)
The American Military put online yesterday an official government website for their All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). This aims to collect and study things that are being observed but cannot be explained, despite the best efforts of their scientific experts. You can check out the new US government site at
Nobody really knows what's being observed, or if anything is even there at all. But further scientific investigation is the best tool we have to expand our knowledge.
Afterpay at BINTEL for Father's Day- available online or in-store
