Spotlight on compact spotting scopes - Celestron Hummingbird ED & Meade RangeView

Celestron DX 6 Price reduction - now just $1099

Sky-Watcher Esprit AP Telescopes now with free Sky-Watcher 50ED - $499 value 

iOptron star tracker mounts - price reductions on iPolar versions

Price drop on the RC6  - Save $100 on this compact astrograph

Celestron StarSense Autoguider- Arriving next month

This week in the Night Sky: Rupes Recta - A 110km long cliff on the Moon visible in telescopes of all sizes. ​

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) team this week released a haunting image of the Great Orion Nebula (M42) which is one of the most popular objects in the night sky for amateur astronomers to view and photograph.  Also announced was the discovery of at least 40 pairs of Jupiter sized planets orbiting each other and not attached to any star. We covered "rouge planets" - those roaming through the Solar System on their own - in a previous blog article. 

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! 

Spotlight on compact zoom spotting scopes - Celestron Hummingbird ED & Meade RangeView

Two compact spotting scopes are in stock at BINTEL. Both are ideal for nature and wildlife viewing and make handy travelling companions.

Meade RangeView ED 16-48x65mm Zoom Spotting Scope - $549.00

The Meade RangeView is ideal for when you need something more powerful than a pair of binoculars. This could be for whale watching, coastal and land views, wildlife in the distance and more. The higher magnifications (16 to 48 times) will mean you'll need a tripod for stable views.  This can be a standard photographic tripod if you have one already, but if you don't, BINTEL can advise on the best one for you. 

Celestron Hummingbird 56ED w/9-27x Zoom Spotting Scope - $499

Another compact spotting scope we can show you at BINTEL is the Celestron Hummingbird 56ED. This spotting scope is slightly smaller and almost palm sized but still offers magnifications higher than what you can achieve with most pairs of binoculars.  It can be used handheld at lower magnifications, but we'd suggest putting it on even a small tripod when zooming up to higher powers.

Both of these spotting scopes feature Extra Low Dispersion or "ED" glass. Their main lenses are set up to provide sharper, clearer views.  Have a chat to BINTEL about what's your best choice in spotting scopes or keep an eye on the BINTEL YouTube Channel for an explainer video about spotting scopes which we'll dropping this week. 

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 6 now $1099 - Ready for in-store pickup or order online

The classic Celestron 6" SCT on a handy high-tech mount for just $1099

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 6 - $1099

The popular Celestron DX 6 is in-stock at BINTEL and available for just $1099.

In last week's newsletter , we talked about the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 5 for $999. 

For this week, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 6 is on offer for $1099. 

What's the difference?

The DX 6 includes the same mount, tripod, accessories, the Celestron StarSense Explorer app itself as the DX 5 - but with a larger telescope of the same design. 

This means Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 6 collects over 30% more light than the DX 5.

This increase in size and light gathering ability translates into brighter, clearer viewing of planets including Saturn and Jupiter, as well as deep-sky objects. 

Plus there's the Celestron 40" Telescope bag we mentioned last week that would suit this telescope as well. 

Sky-Watcher Esprit APO Telescopes now with free Sky-Watcher 50ED - $499 value

Great little guidescope now on included.

The Sky-Watcher Esprit APO telescopes brought in the era high-end refractor telescopes at affordable prices for their size.  We've supplied many Esprits over the years to our customers and are some of our BINTEL staff are keen Sky-Watcher Esprit users themselves. We rate them pretty highly!

Until the 31st of October any purchaser of Sky-Watcher will receive a free Sky-Watcher 50ED guidescope.   

(Please note - the 50ED will be supplied by TSA Outdoors -  https://www.tsaoutdoors.com.au - who are the Sky-Watcher distribution partner in Australia and run the Sky-Watcher Australia website and social media.)

iOptron star tracker mounts - price reductions on iPolar versions

Star tracking mounts with hi-tech polar alignment. 

iOptron SkyGuider Pro Camera Equatorial Mount with iPolar - $999 (Shown with optional tripod, camera and lens)

The iOptron SkyGuider Pro star tracker mounts have been popular with astrophotographers, especially those in the Southern hemisphere. Apart being some of the more accurate and reliable star tracker mounts available, this version has a very cool feature that totally solves the issue of Polar alignment in the Southern hemisphere - iPolar.

iOptron SkyGuider Pro Accessories

The iPolar feature is computerised polar alignment system.  It means your iOptron mount will be perfectly aligned and ready to start imaging without minimal hassle. A BINTEL recommendation!  (We'll talk about other iOptron tracking mounts with iPolar next week. )

Price drop on the RC6  - Save $100 on this compact astrograph

We've sliced $100 off the price off one of most popular astro imaging telescopes. 

BINTEL RC6 f/9 Astrograph Ritchey-Chrétien - now $759

This little telescope is an astro imaging wonder and proof you don't need to spend a fortune to achieve deep-sky photos that you'll be proud to share around.  

An image of the Carina Nebula taken with an RC6 f/9 Astrograph Ritchey-Chrétien and a ZWO1600MM camera. Full details on Astrobin

BINTEL can provide cameras for deep-sky imaging, computerised mounts and help along your astro imaging journey. 

Celestron StarSense Autoguider- Arriving next month

New Celestron gizmo to set up and guide their mounts on the way!

Celestron StarSense Autoguider - due end of November.

The new Celestron StarSense Autoguider is on the way to BINTEL!

We've mentioned this new gizmo some months ago. It automatically carries out the initial alignment of a wide range of Celestron telescope and mounts and from there, helps the tracking accuracy for long exposure astrophotography or extending visual observing. 

It also assists with Polar alignment, works via Celestron NexStar+ hand controller, over Wi-Fi or wired via your PC.  It's also compatible with just about any modern Celestron computer controlled telescope or mount.  

We're expecting the Celestron StarSense Autoguider to arrive at BINTEL around the end of November.  Orders are open now!

This week in the Night Sky: Rupes Recta - A 110km long cliff on the Moon visible in telescopes of all sizes. ​​​​​​​

A long, straight cliff visible on the Lunar surface

An image of a straight cliff on the Moon, Rupes Recta taken with a Celestron C11. More details of this image here.

What's your favourite feature on the Moon?

We love the Moon here at BINTEL! There's' a lifetime of discovery to be made exploring the features on the side of the Moon facing us and the constant changes it undergoes during the Lunar phases.  One of our favourite things to observe on the Moon is "Rupes Recta" or The Straight Wall.

This appears as a bright line during the three-quarter or gibbous phase of the Moon, either leading into a Full Moon or towards a last quarter - pretty much like the Moon phase at the time of this newsletter, 7th of Oct 2023. 

It's likely a fault line, possibly related to the lava flooding of nearby Mare Nubium.

What do I need to see Rupes Recta?

This is a Lunar feature visible in most telescopes with an aperture of 70mm or more. For example, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130 would easily provide close up views of this and many other features on the Moon.

How do I find Rupes Recta?

You can use any number of the Lunar charts and atlases available.  We'd suggest the Celestron Moon Map kit for $24.95 which also included a Celestron Moon filter - handy for keeping the glare down.

Another option is to use a Moon map program like the Virtual Moon Atlas. 

While this is an older program, it's been kept up to date and is a standard for mapping and learning about the Moon. We highly recommend it and we'll be covering using it in later newsletters and blog articles when we explore other Lunar features. 

You can download the Virtual Lunar Atlas from the link below.