The RAYOX saddle offers a unique auto engaging saddle for astronomical and terrestrial telescopes. By automatically cinching down on your dovetail, the Rayox saddle virtually eliminates accidental drops of your OTA during setup, balancing or break-down. By using an auto-engaging cam-lever, users can easily lock their dovetail firmly into place […]
Author: Stuart Parkerson
SkiesAway Brings the Astronomy Viewing to Science-Starved Public
Everyone loves astronomy. The planets and the stars fill us with wonder and awe. But under the light-polluted skies of major cities, few people know how to connect with the night sky and explore their own universe. That’s all changing with southern California’s newest and only astronomy events company, SkiesAway. […]
SpaceFab Space Telescope to Launch in 2022
SpaceFab is a space startup company working on space telescope satellites, asteroid mining and space manufacturing. The company plans to launch its first space telescope in late 2022. Their satellite, called the Viewpoint space telescope, will be available to the public to take astronomical or Earth observation pictures, making it […]
Good To Stargaze App Offers Weather Forecasts for Astronomers
The Good To Stargaze app is an iOS and Android app that helps you plan your observing sessions and find dark sky locations. The Good To Stargaze app provides detailed hour-by-hour forecasts of atmospheric conditions for any location on the planet, including cloud cover, visibility, seeing, transparency, and light pollution, […]
SkySafari 6 Pro for iOS
Simulation Curriculum announced Version 6 of SkySafari Pro for iOS and iPhone X. Here’s what’s new: Clouds and Astronomy Two words that rarely go together. Rewritten from the ground up, SkySafari 6 Pro will (optionally) back up all of your observing data to SkySafari’s secure cloud storage and make it […]
Custom Telescope Cases from Image Alloy Cases
Custom Telescope Cases from Image Alloy Cases Beginning in the mid-to-late 2000s, Celestron supplied its 8-inch SCTs without a case, which was surprising considering that Celestron’s signature scope was marketed as a portable telescope. Indeed, the C8’s impressive portability-to-aperture factor was why I bought it. After exhausting other ideas, I […]
Celestron Windguide Anemometer Review
Celestron Windguide Anemometer Review I was cold – frozen-to-my-skinny-old-man-core cold – despite that it was only 42.2° Fahrenheit (5.67° Celsius) out, warmer than many of the days I’d previously pedaled on my national bike tour. I knew it was relatively cold out, because, well, I felt it. I knew precisely […]
Cyclope Seeing Monitor Review
Cyclope Seeing Monitor Review What is “seeing” and why do we care? In 2010, I built a remote observatory in the Texas Hill Country. The main telescope is an RC Optical Systems 16-inch carbon truss. The observatory is robotic and can be controlled over the internet, which has expanded my […]
Astro Photography Tool Adds Nikon Support
The publishers of the Astro Photography Tool recently announced the availability of APT 3.40 offering new support for Nikon cameras, as well as providing a host of new features for Canon EOS, CCDs, plus general fixes to the program. In addition to improving the program itself, the publishers have also […]
APM Telescopes World’s Largest Maksutov-Cassegrain
APM Telescopes recently completed initial work on the optical set of what might be the largest true Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope ever attempted, a 20-inch f/8 monster of a Mak-Cass! The mirrors are made from Astro-Sital, and the optical elements are now undergoing broadband multicoating. Optics are by Sankovitsch, in Russia, while […]
Cosmic Watch App for iOS and Android
The Cosmic Watch app for iOS and Android are two apps in one: a world clock and an astronomical clock. The celestial watch is based on a beautifully designed three-dimensional model of the solar system as experienced from earth. It shows time as what it really is – our position […]
Remote Power Switch for 10Micron Mounts
Deep Space Products’ small electronic relay switch is designed specifically for remotely turning a 10Micron mounts on and off. The switch requires a 12-volt AC/DC power supply (low-amp is fine) and a remote-controlled AC power source. A remote-controlled 12-volt DC power source (such as a RIGrunner 4005) can also be […]