Jupiter at its best for 2023 - Opposition next week plus BINTEL's suggestion for planetary viewing

Vixen Astronomy Binoculars - superb for whale watching too! 

Nikon M7 Binoculars - Handy companions for bird watching, sports and enjoying the outdoors this summer

New Astro Night torches - Stylish red-light lantern and powerful white light torch

Hundreds of ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescopes arrive with more on the way - secure yours with a 25% deposit

Ever wanted to see a Total Solar Eclipse? A few places left on a very special trip for the April 2024 event in the USA

Do you have an old or interesting pair of binoculars? - Let us know

Jupiter captured by Andy Casely from the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and posted to the BINTEL Society Facebook Group. He used a Celestron C14 and a QHY5III200M camera. See Andy's full post here.

To be featured, you can send us your Astro and Nature images here or post them the BINTEL Society Facebook Group where you can join 1.5k fellow astronomy and nature fanatics! 

Jupiter at its best for 2023 - Opposition next week plus BINTEL's suggestion for planetary viewing

Our closest encounter with the Solar System's largest planet happens this coming week. 

Planet season for 2023 continues with Jupiter at opposition the 3rd of November 2023. This is the point when Jupiter and Earth's respective orbits bring our planets the closest together for the year. 

Oppositions like these happen with all the "superior" planets - Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Please note this diagram is not to scale in the slightest. Jupiter is vastly further away from the Sun compared to Earth. It's purely to show how the alignment takes place. 

From Earth's point of view, an opposition means two main things - 

• As the planet is close to Earth, it's the best time of the year to view and photograph it
• The planet at opposition will be visible in the sky almost the entire night

This means it's the perfect time to head outside and start Solar System observing.

Where to find Jupiter from Sydney on the 3rd of November 

It shouldn't be hard to find Jupiter - it will far and away be the brightest "star" in the sky and rises as it's getting dark. Use the chart above if you're not sure. 

Oppositions are slow moving events. If you can't make it outside on the night of the Jupiter opposition, the planet will still be excellent viewing for weeks afterwards. Saturn is now well past its 2023 opposition we mentioned a few months ago but is still excellent viewing.   

In binoculars Jupiter will appear as a small "dot" with its four brightest moons spread out to either side.  Even in small telescopes, Jupiter will start to show bands across its disk, with larger telescopes revealing more and possibly even Jupiter's most famous feature, the "Great Red Spot" - a massive storm that's the largest in the Solar System.

Great telescope for Jupiter - (and Saturn, and nebulae and star clusters and....)

Fully computerised and GOTO control over Wi-Fi too.

If you'd like a portable but fully optioned telescope, the Celestron Evolution 6 is available now from BINTEL for $2999.

This provides sharp, clear views of Jupiter and its moons, along with Saturn, the Moon and other Solar System objects. It's a full "GOTO" telescope too. Set up and align the Evolution 6 and using either the handset or your phone or tablet via the built-in Wi-Fi and the Celestron app, you can select what you'd like to view. 

The telescope will then automatically move to your selection and keep track of it as you view or photograph it.  

The Celestron Evolution is highly recommended for serious beginners, or more experienced astronomers after an easy-to-use telescope as an alternative to their more serious gear. 

Vixen Astronomy Binoculars - superb for whale watching too!

Japanese made Vixen binoculars with mount and tripod 

We often receive requests for large binoculars for viewing the night sky or long-range land and water views. 

Larger binoculars need a proper mount and way to hold them steady so you can enjoy extended viewing of Milky Way, the Moon, nebulae or even do a spot of whale watching and scenic views. 

The Vixen HF2-BT81S-A Astronomical Binoculars and Tripod shown fully assembled

Arriving in December for Christmas is the Vixen HF2-BT81S-A Astronomical Binoculars and Tripod kit. 

This includes large 81mm Vixen binoculars, mount and tripod. 

Two eyepieces are included, but you can use any standard 1.25" telescope eyepiece to change the binoculars' magnification.  (Bear in mind you'll need two of them.)

Find out more from the link below.   You can also order this Vixen binocular kit with a 25% deposit. 

Nikon M7 Binoculars - Handy companions for bird watching, sports and enjoying the outdoors this summer

Latest version of long-term Nikon favourites now in stock at BINTEL

We've been selling Nikon Monarch binoculars for decades and they've always been a reliable option for those folks after a combination of optical quality, mechanical build, reliable and decent value for money. 

Many of our binocular customers swear by them and wouldn't use anything else. The new Monarch M5 and M7 models have been around for a couple of years and are the latest versions, with tweaks to the optics and improvements to the bodies. 

A pair of compact Nikon M7 10x30 Binoculars being shown to a BINTEL customer

Feel free to pop in to BINTEL at any time to have a chat with one of our optical experts to help you work out the best binoculars for you and have a look through the Nikon Monarch M5 and M7 series. We always have an extensive range of binoculars for you to check out.

New Astro Night torches - Stylish red-light lantern and powerful white light torch

Two new torches at BINTEL

The first is the Astro Night Stellar Lantern for $64.95.

This is retro-styled lantern designed with both visual observers and astrophotographers in mind. It comes with a rubber bugee cord to quicky attach it to just about any piece of astro gear including mounts and tripods. It's also super easy to position on its side to light up work areas or equipment. 

The best thing for astronomer is that it switches on to low-intensity red light so you don't lose your night sight to a bright LED light.

Features multi-colour illumination and USB-C charging

Also now available at BINTEL is the Astro Night Flashlight HL-X1 for $115.

There are times when a powerful, white light torch is an essential when out observing. It could be as simple as you're packing up for the evening or to point out structures in the night sky. 

The HL-X1 offers two lighting outputs, a single high powered 20 Watt LED flashlight with 1200 lumens output and a separate 250 lumens floodlight on the tail end. It can also function as a USB powerbank. 

Hundreds of ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescopes arrive with more on the way - secure yours with a 25% deposit

Update on the ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescopes. 

A small part of the ZWO Seestars that have started to arrive at BINTEL this week. 

Our fourth shipment of ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescope arrived at BINTEL during the week, with a much larger quantity due in the coming days. It will mean hundreds of these new telescopes have landed at BINTEL recently.

HOWEVER - all of these Seestar S50 telescopes are already sold to customers and much of our following batches are sold as well. 

We are saying orders for a Seestar S50 placed now - 28th Oct 2023 - will mean a January 2024 delivery BUT it seems larger than expected quantities being received by BINTEL from ZWO *might* mean delivery earlier than this. 

The delays have been frustrating, and we have offered full refunds of any amounts paid for those who didn't want to wait.  Less than 1% of the many hundreds of BINTEL customers who've signed up for a Seestar S50 have cancelled their orders.  

There's been overwhelmingly positive feedback from our customers who've already received their ZWO Seestar S50 telescopes.  We've received many e-mails and messages from astronomers of all levels of expertise amazed at what they've been able to achieve on their first night out with their new gizmos. (Many more Seestar S50 owners have also posted on social media along the same lines.)

The future for astronomy is looking super bright with increasing numbers of ZWO Seestar S50 and DWARF II Smart Telescopes flowing in the hands of night sky devotees. 

If you'd like to get your own ZWO Seestar S50 on the way, click on the link below.  You can secure one with a 25% deposit as well. 

Still time to enter the 2023 BINTEL Astrophotography Competition- Open until the 15th of November

Quick reminder - the BINTEL Astrophotographer competition is open and entries close on the 15th of November. We've had some amazing submissions sent to us so far, with several folks telling us the competition has been a catalyst to learn more and hone their techniques. 

Even if you're just starting your astro imaging journey, enter the BINTEL competition. You might be producing better photos than you think.

Astronomy 2024 - here now!

The 2024 edition of everyone's favourite astronomy annual has arrived at BINTEL

We mentioned recently that the 2024 edition of the Astronomy Australia annual was on the way. 

It's now landed at BINTEL.

Full of astro events, charts, handy guides and even a complete tutorial on eyepiece selection from BINTEL's tech guru, Don Whiteman. 

Grab a copy for $32.95 with free shipping anywhere in Australia.

Ever wanted to see a Total Solar Eclipse? - a few places left on a very special trip for the April 2024 event in the USA

Solar Eclipse viewing with Professor Fred Watson plus lots, lots more!

Experience the 2024 Solar Eclipse in Texas with Professor Fred Watson. (image: Bernie Sharp)

There's a handful of spots left on the Dark Sky Traveller trip to the USA next year to view the Total Solar Eclipse on the 8th of April 2024 with Australia’s first Astronomer-at-Large, Professor Fred Watson. You'll also visit NASA's Houston and Cape Canaveral Space Centres and even observe from dark sky sites in Texas. 

If you're into astronomy and nature and wanted a true "trip of a lifetime", this would have to be one not to pass up.  Find out more via the link below or contact Dark Sky Traveller here.  Mention you're signing up from BINTEL for an extra discount. 

Do you have an old or interesting pair of binoculars? - Let us know.

We're having a chat early next week with Professor Fred Watson about his collection of old and historic binoculars - if you have any yourself, let us know.

Earl from BINTEL is sitting down with Fred early next week for a chat about some of his of old and interesting binoculars that he's acquired over the years and written about.  This will be on the BINTEL YouTube channel shortly. 

If you have a pair of binoculars that might have an interesting history or that you'd like to know more about, then click on the link below and let us know.  They might be cool to include in the conversation. 

Astronomy news this week - A Lunar Eclipse on Sunday morning

There's a partial Lunar Eclipse visible just before dawn on Sunday the 29th of October Sydney time. It will be super tricky to see. 

The view from Sydney at 5.30am on Sunday, 29th of Oct 2023 at 5.30am -via Time and Date. Just 4 degrees above horizon. 

If you're up early on Sunday morning and have a clear view to the westerly sky, you might be able to spot a partial Lunar eclipse that occurs just as the Moon is setting. 

A partial Lunar eclipse is when part of the Moon's surface is covered by the shadow of the Earth.  In this case, it also happens when the Moon is about to set below the horizon as seen from places like Sydney. 

It'll be a hard to see event due to it being so close to the horizon. Full details via the link below. 

Next week: More Kowa spotting scopes plus BINTEL's growing selection of bird watching books.