No images? Click here
Easter holiday projects -
Part 1:
Can you see the Moon during the day?
Have you seen the Moon in the early morning sky?
The Easter break offers some ideal opportunities for Lunar views both during the night and early in the morning.
Full Moon is on the 17th April 2022. The Moon will rise in the early evening and be visible all night. We won't need to tell you where to find it. If you have clear skies - you won't miss it! Full Moon is simply when it's daylight across the entire side of the Moon that faces the Earth.
Over the following week the Moon will rise later and later in the evening. By Fri the 22nd of April it doesn't rise until 10pm Sydney time and past the bedtime of some younger astronomers. However, it doesn't set again midday the next day. If you look on the opposite side of the morning sky to the Sun, you should be able to find the Moon during that week in the morning sky and watch its phase change from gibbous or nearly full to a last quarter Moon.
The phases of the Moon are the Lunar day and night. As the Moon always faces almost the same way towards us, it spins every 28 days, not 24 hours like the Earth. This means a day or night on the Moon is about 14 days long.
The Moon during the early morning is easy to spot in a telescope - just make sure you keep it pointed well away from the Sun. It's also an excellent time to try to photograph the Moon with your phone.
Did you spot the Moon in early morning? Post your observations and pictures in to the BINTEL Facebook page.
Easter holiday projects -
Part 2:
Can you spot the Apollo landing sites?
It's been 50 years since we last visited the Moon.
2022 marks 50 years since humans last walked on the Moon. The next NASA landing has now been bumped to 2026 at earliest. It's a long time between Lunar boot prints! You can read about NASA's plans to return to the Moon and the Artemis missions here
The Full Moon is a fun time to discover the regions on the Moon where the six successful NASA Apollo landings took place.
No telescope on Earth can view the part of the Lunar Landers called the Descent Stage left behind by the Apollo missions, but you can explore the regions where they landed. For example, the Apollo 11 mission touched down a relatively flat region called "The Sea of Tranquility" (Mare Tranquillitatis) marked with 11 and visible in this map as a dark, smooth region. Later missions landed in more difficult, mountainous terrain.
(Image via NASA/Ben Spraggon)
You'll easily be able to spot the differences in the Apollo landing sites through even a small beginner's telescope like this Meade Infinity 70mm.
Meade Infinity 70mm $249 with Free Moon Map & Moon Filter
Perfect beginner's telescope for all ages
The Meade Infinity 70mm is a classic refractor telescope, similar to the type many astronomers no doubt had as their first telescope.
You'll get to see amazing views of the Moon, deep sky objects such as star cluster and bright nebulae. As we slide into the winter months, the two largest gas giants in the Solar System will be at their best and you'll see the rings of Saturn and the bands on Jupiter along with its brightest satellites.
The Meade Infinity range also includes a larger 90mm Refractor telescope as well as reflectors. Drop BINTEL a message if you'd like to know which model is best for you.
Pre-orders
Supply problems with popular items are going to continue for a while yet.
We're fairly sure everyone is well and truly over the COVID 19 pandemic. While life is slowly getting back to normal for many of us here in Australia and New Zealand, the spread of COVID continues to cause supply problems in other parts of the world.
Products are continuing to arrive, just not at the rate we'd like.
For example, popular items like the ZWO ASIAIR Plus guiding and astrophotography computer is in very short supply. We've sold hundreds of these handy little gizmos since its release, with all of them being snapped up quickly.
For items like these it's advisable to pre-order them to ensure you receive them from stock BINTEL has arriving soon.
There's two ways to do this. One is to buy the item online and select collect in store or delivery. We'll notify you when your item arrives.
You can also call BINTEL during business hours on 02 9518 7255 and pay a deposit over the phone to secure your product. We'll then contact you to arrange payment of the balance prior to dispatch. This ensures you won't miss out on popular items.
Hopefully things will improve later in the 2022!
