BINTEL's Mars celebration 2022 kicks off - why NASA might try a crash landing on the red planet

BINTEL Photo Comp

Unistellar eVscope eQuinox in-store @ BINTEL now

ZEISS Binoculars

Telescope Collimation Workshop @ BINTEL - 5th November 2022

Reminder - ASV Sea Lake Astro Fest

2022 Xmas Telescope & Binocular Buyer's Guide next week

NGC 2081 is an emission nebula and star cluster buried away in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Allan Kilgour posted this image to the BINTEL Society Facebook group.  He used a Celestron 9.25" SCT, ZWO ASI1600MM camera and Antlia 3 nm filters.

Getting Martian soil samples back to Earth - is NASA really going to crash a spacecraft into Mars?

An illustration of SHIELD, a Mars lander concept that would allow lower-cost missions to reach the Red Planet’s surface by safely crash landing, using a collapsible base to absorb the impact.

In the lead up to the opposition of Mars on December 8th 2022 - the best time to view Mars for the last two years - BINTEL will be celebrating all things Mars related.   We'll be covering the best way to see Mars with a telescope, what space missions to the red planet are in the pipeline and of course explore the big question - why is NASA working so hard to search for life on Mars.

In this article we'll explore one option for returning the Martian soil samples currently being collected by the Perseverance Mars rover.  Rather than using parachutes or rockets to slow it completely for landing, it will make a controlled impact using crumple zones. Read more below. 

BINTEL Astrophotographer of the year - Entries now open

Entries for the 2022 BINTEL Astrophotographer of the year competition are now being accepted. 

Competition judges will pay special attention to the notes and "how to" hints we're encouraging each entrant to fill in. This will help share around skills and expertise to assist others to produce memorable astro photos. 

Special thanks to Samyang and Benro for sponsoring this event. 

Judges for the event will be Luke Clements from leading photographic supplier Maxxum and Matt Dodds, renowned astronomy and science educator.

Complete details via the link below. Best of luck!

eVscope eQuinox computerised telescope - Now in store at BINTEL

There are some new remarkable computerised telescopes that will revolutionise astronomy in the years ahead.  Among these is the Unistellar eVscope eQuinox. 

This is a fully computerised telescope that connects to your favourite devices to let you explore and photograph the wonders of the night sky from anywhere with automatic alignment and built-in light pollution reduction capabilities.

It's also an ideal way to get involved in global science projects to hunt near Earth asteroids, comets and even exoplanets. 

Visit BINTEL to learn more, have a chat to us online or on the phone. 

Galaxy M33 taken through a Unistellar eVscope eQuinox

ZEISS Binoculars landing at BINTEL

Binoculars from famous German optical company, ZEISS, are arriving now at BINTEL. 

For example, this ZEISS Victory SF 8×42 T* Black pair of binoculars offer some of the sharpest and true to life views available.   If you are after premium binoculars for bird watching, nature viewing or even taking to the cricket this summer make sure you have a chat to BINTEL about ZEISS. 

BINTEL Telescope Collimation Workshop 5th November 2022

Reflecting telescopes need occasional adjustment to the alignment of their mirrors to get the absolute best from them. 

Reflector telescope at BINTEL showing the main mirror

A small price to pay for the reflecting telescope's superior value for money compared to refractors is the need for collimation. This straightforward process aligns the two mirrors to ensure images are at their sharpest. 

Pop into BINTEL on the 5th of November 2022 or book into the Facebook event from the link below.  Don Whiteman, our technical manager, will be running a series of hands-on sessions walking through the collimation process from start to finish.  (Knowing Don, there's likely to be a few tall tales and snippets of "general life advice" along the way as well....)

We'll be kicking off about 11am with a talk about Newtonian and SCT optics and then demonstrating hands on how to collimate these telescopes for the next couple of hours. 

If you'd like to bring in your own telescope for the day please let us know ahead of the event. 

Reminder - Sea Lake Astro Fest next weekend

Quick reminder - the Sea Lake Astro Fest organised by the Astronomical Society of Victoria and sponsored by BINTEL is on next weekend.

Book for the pub trivia night via the link below 

Next week - BINTEL Telescope & Binocular buyer's guide - how to get into outer space this Christmas

2022 Marks BINTEL's 40th Christmas season!

We'll shortly be releasing our 2022 Christmas Telescope & Binocular buyer's guide.  This covers topics like - 

• What to look for when buying a telescope
• BINTEL's favourite beginner's telescopes and binoculars
• Add-on accessories
• Easy explanation of common terms and specs
• Mistakes to avoid

If you are planning on a buying a telescope or pair of binoculars this Christmas, make sure you read this first.

Plus another famous binocular brand arriving soon at BINTEL....stay tuned.