No images? Click here Astronomy Binoculars - From Celestron to SwarovskiIntroduction to Telescope FiltersObserving SaturnSee you @ QLD Astrofest!Dmitri Pyannikov posted his image of M83, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy to the BINTEL Society Facebook group. It was taken with a Celestron 9.25" SCT telescope. Winter Star Gazing BinocularsSome examples of stargazing binoculars to suit all budgets. Celestron SkyMaster 12x60mm Binoculars We've talked about using binoculars for stargazing before. If you've never used binoculars for looking at the night sky, it's definitely a great experience for all ages! Almost all binoculars can be used for astronomy. This low cost Celestron SkyMaster 12x60mm pair for $175 are perfect for beginners and the views through them are bright enough for detailed viewing of the night sky. The centre of the Milky Way is directly overhead during our long winter nights and exploring its dust clouds and knots of star clusters through binoculars like these Celestron SkyMasters is unforgettable. For a pair of binoculars for stargazing that are that extra bit special in terms of the views they produce, the Swarovski Habicht 7×42 binoculars are a perfect choice. The Swarovski Habicht range use a "classic" optical system that's been refined for several generations. The crispness and detailed views on offer are likely to be sharper and more detailed than almost any other binoculars of a comparable size you've used before. As an example, the light transmission through these Swarovski binoculars is 93% - far higher than most binoculars and one of the many reasons they're a favourite among BINTEL team members. Introduction to telescope filters - take away some light and add extra detailsA common question at BINTEL is "Do I need filters for my telescope? Will I be able to see more with them? There are many different filter types and working out what they do and how they can improve your views can be a bit confusing. BINTEL Planetary Filter Set First of all, all filters block some light. This can be across all parts of the visible light spectrum (dark or neutral density filters) or certain parts of the spectrum which gives the filters a coloured appearance. By doing this, filters highlight details and reduce glare. If you'd like to read more about which filters will help you see more details through your telescope, click on the link below. (Hint - they can often help when viewing planets.) This article contains information about visual filters including what the numbers on the coloured filters mean. We'll be covering filters for taking astro images in a later article. Seeing Jupiter and SaturnWe've had some questions about seeing Jupiter and Saturn during their upcoming oppositions. (The time of the year when the Earth's orbit takes us closest to the gas giants.) The view from Sydney on the 1st August 2022 at about 11pm. Produced by Stellarium If you head outside a little while after dark, Saturn will be a bright, white "star" that is rising in the eastern night sky. Over the next couple of hours, a much brighter white star - this time the planet Jupiter - will also be seen following Saturn, rising in the same direction. Apart from their brightness during the opposition period, planets don't twinkle in the same way stars do. This is because they don't appear as single points of light from Earth like all stars do. Rob Watson posted his images of Jupiter and Saturn the BINTEL Society Facebook group. They were taken using a Sky-Watcher Quattro 200mm Telescope and a ZWO ASI290MC camera. For working out the position of not just the planets but what's on view across the entire night sky, one excellent package is Stellarium. You can use the free web version here of Stellarium here. Highly recommended by BINTEL! We'll be talking a fair bit about Jupiter and Saturn in the coming weeks and sharing some photos of these largest planets in the Solar System that have taken by BINTEL customers. If you'd like a beginner's telescope for viewing planets, the Meade Polaris 90mm would be an ideal choice. BINTEL Open Box Bargains - More added!Remember to keep checking this area as products on offer change on a regular basis.From time to time we have products that have been opened and used for product photography or other reasons. We then check them out, repack them and re-box them. Then we drop the price. There's not a lot of products in this area, but each one has the same warranty and support as a "factory fresh" item. Keep an eye on this area as it's always changing. Space News - See you @ QLD AstrofestBINTEL are proud to be major sponsors of the QLD Astrofest, the first one held since 2019! We're donating:
Registrations for 2022 have closed, but you can learn more about the event from the link below. Next time....Space Projects for kids. |