Astronomy'sfifth Annual

ASTRO-TECH 4 12-inch truss-tube Ritchey-Chrétien 2014 Astronomy’s fifth annual optical tube AVALON INSTRUMENTS Ritchey-Chrétien (RC) 7 M-Zero Fast Reverse single-arm Cassegrain reflectors rank among the finest instru- mount ments in their respective Made from anodized aluminum aperture classes. Perhaps the with stainless steel hardware, the most important benefit of the versatile M-Zero mount is an RC design is its total freedom from accessory you can set up in equato- image distortions, making these rial or alt-azimuth mode. It’s light STAR PRODUCTS scopes an astrophotographer’s favorite. enough for easy transport, yet by Phil Harrington But that advantage has always come at an sturdy enough to allow guided astronomical price — until now. Astro-Tech’s 12-inch f/8 truss- photography through telescopes nce again, our equipment guru tube RC instrument offers many advanced features, such as with apertures as large as 8 inches. carbon-fiber construction and a quartz mirror with enhanced In equatorial mode, the M-Zero combed the marketplace to find the coatings, at an unprecedented low price. doesn’t require a meridian flip, so most useful and most ingenious prod- you can use a relatively long optical O tube. In alt-azimuth mode, it is ucts for the fifth incarnation of Astronomy’s ASTRONOMY TECHNOLOGY TODAY perfect for both telescopes and 5 Astronomy Technology Today binoculars or to acquire automatic time-lapse sequences. Ava- Star Products. The 35 items here, presented lon’s Bluetooth-enabled StarGo go-to system controls the in alphabetical order by manufacturer, run Each issue of Astronomy M-Zero mount. features the best equip- the gamut. Some are perfect for visual ment that money can observing, while others will help you excel buy. But for hard-core BAADER PLANETARIUM equipment junkies, 8 Q-Turret at astroimaging. There’s something for there is Astronomy Technology Today. Each No single eyepiece works for viewing everything. But some- everyone — beginner to advanced ama- bimonthly issue is sin- times switching eyepieces causes a telescope’s aim to shift and a teur — and in a wide price range. gularly devoted to pro- faint object to be lost. The Q-Turret makes changing eyepieces filing the current state easy because you don’t remove them. Instead, after inserting of the astronomical four 1¼" eyepieces of your choice in the turret, you simply dial marketplace by survey- between them. Although Baader makes the unit out of plastic, APOGEE IMAGING SYSTEMS ing new equipment as the quality construction ensures years of service while keeping 1 Aspen CG16M CCD camera well as product evalua- weight to a minimum. tions written by owners. With improved baffling to minimize internal reflections, a durable shutter, and advanced cooling to reduce image-distorting elec- ASTRONOMERS WITHOUT BORDERS ASTROZAP tronic noise, Apogee’s line of 3 OneSky tabletop Newtonian 6 Light Shrouds for Sky-Watcher Dobs Aspen imagers are ideal for seri- ous astrophotographers. The Have you ever been asked to recommend a good starter tele- Open-tubed Newtonian Aspen CG16M contains the scope for a child? I have. Astronomers Without Borders’ reflectors are becoming Kodak KAF-16803 full-frame CCD OneSky 5.1-inch f/5 tabletop Newtonian is one of the best sold more and more popular chip. The Aspen line has other mod- today. No bells, whistles, or electronics. Just good optics in an these days, and for good els with a variety of monochromatic and color CCD chips. easy-to-setup, user-friendly package. Place the telescope on a reasons. Not only does All come standard with two interfaces: a network interface with picnic table, extend the collapsible tube, and the one-armed, the design cut down on a built-in Web server and 1-to-16 MHz 16-bit digitization. alt-azimuth-mounted instrument is ready to explore the sky. weight, but it also helps optics cool more quickly than solid-tube ASTRO HUTECH models. Still, light 2 Flat-top Orthoscopic Eyepieces entering the optical path from the side can Eyepiece design is one of the most fluid aspects of amateur astronomy. And while many come and go, damage image contrast. one that has stood the test of time is the Abbe orthoscopic. Recently, Astro Hutech introduced a line of To solve the problem, Astrozap sells a line of custom-fit cloth these eyepieces in eight focal lengths from 4mm to 25mm. Eye relief and apparent field of view may not shrouds for 8- to 16-inch Sky-Watcher Dobsonian telescopes Phil Harrington is an Astronomy contributing editor and author of be as great as some modern designs, but image sharpness is second to none. That’s why orthoscopic eye- that prevent stray light from washing out the view. Cosmic Challenge: The Ultimate Observing List for Amateurs (Cambridge pieces continue to be a favorite for lunar and planetary study. University Press, 2010).

74 ASTRONOMY • SEPTEMBER© 2014 Kalmbach 2014 Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 75 form without permission from the publisher. www.Astronomy.com BAADER PLANETARIUM CELESTRON HOWIE GLATTER MALLINCAM 9 Steeltrack Crayford focusers 12 Off-Axis Guider 15 Parallizer 18 MallinCam Jr PRO Often, the stock focusers that An off-axis guider is an Many observers view through 1¼" From Procom Electronics in Ottawa, Canada, comes this addi- come with low-price telescopes accessory imagers use with eyepieces in 2" focusers by using a tion to the MallinCam line of video cameras. The MallinCam Jr leave something to be desired. long-focal-length telescopes step-down adapter. But unless PRO is similar to the company’s more expensive Mallincam Baader solves the problem with a because such instru- machining tolerances are strictly Xtreme, but without some of the fancier features. Junior’s stan- line of Steeltrack Crayford-style ments require the most followed, the unit can sit badly in dard CCD chip, the Sony ICX418AKL, is the same, while a more focusers, available for telescopes as accurate guiding. the focuser, and that will affect sensitive EXview HAD chip is also available. You can order small as 2 inches. These focusers Celestron’s Off- image quality. Howie Glatter’s Parallizer step-down adapter either as color or monochrome. Both feature exposures you can use internal ball bearings riding Axis Guider prevents this by maintaining three equally distributed points of set to last anywhere from 1/12,000 second to 99 hours. on hardened stainless steel inside uses an adjust- contact on the inside of the focuser’s drawtube as well as on the an aluminum base for smooth able, multicoated eyepiece’s barrel, keeping everything square. operation. Both coarse and fine 12.5-millimeter adjustments are standard on all prism that allows models. you to locate a guide star. The 48mm clear aperture supports ISTAR OPTICAL full-frame cameras without vignetting. The guider comes with 16 Phoenix WFT 204–6 a fixed-orientation helical focuser and includes all needed spacers and adapters for most imaging configurations. From Czech telescope maker Istar Optical comes three refrac- CELESTRON tors billed as “comet hunters.” That’s just one enticing aspect of 10 COSMOS 90GT WiFi Telescope these scopes. The largest, the 8-inch f/5.9 Phoe- DENKMEIER nix WFT 204–6, offers wide fields of view The COSMOS 13 Solar observing Optical Correctors that are ideal for studying expansive star 90GT 90mm clusters, glowing nebulae, and, yes, f/10 refractor Observing the Sun in comets. Fully multicoated optics is the first Hydrogen-alpha (Hα) promise images with fine con- WiFi-enabled tele- light is always excit- trast that also are sharp scope for amateur astrono- ing. And viewing it thanks to an oversized mers. Rather than use a hand with two eyes adds a rotatable focuser. controller, the COSMOS 90GT’s dimension that one- go-to function operates from eyed sungazing your smartphone or tablet. never achieves. The 3.5-inch telescope uses Unfortunately, most Celestron’s free Navigator Hα telescopes don’t planetarium app. The link have the added focusing will work everywhere, distance needed by binoview- even without WiFi or a ers. To fix this, Denkmeier now offers Optical Correctors that cell signal. let their binoviewers focus through all popular Hα solar scopes. Prepare to be astonished.

EXPLORE SCIENTIFIC CELESTRON 14 152mm Achromatic Refractor 11 Skyris CCD imagers LOSMANDY Explore Scientific built the largest member of its AR Doublet 17 StarLapse Designed with Germany’s The Imaging Source, Celestron’s line Series of achromatic refractors around an air-spaced, crown- of Skyris solar/lunar/planetary video imagers combine popular and-flint, doublet objective lens, just like its 102mm and You’ve probably seen online videos showing time-lapse views of CMOS and CCD chips used for planetary imaging with super- 127mm models. At f/6.5, this 6-inch scope shows some color the sky rotating above a striking terrestrial foreground. How do fast USB 3.0 con- fringing around bright objects, even with the fully multicoated the videographers record such scenes? They use a tracking plat- nections for optics. But given the high-end aluminum and stainless steel form like the StarLapse from Losmandy. Based on the same rates up to 120 construction, as well as the price, which is a fraction of a similar right ascension drive system as the company’s GM-8 equatorial full-resolution apochromatic refractor, it’s easy to forgive that flaw. mount, Losmandy’s StarLapse tracks MYCASEBUILDER frames per the sky at both sidereal and solar rates, 19 Custom cases second. The and pans the camera at nine different Skyris lineup speeds up to 240° per hour for the It’s important to keep our precious eyepieces and accessories safe includes three duration of the exposure. between observing sessions. MyCaseBuilder offers a variety of models, each custom-made plastic and metal foam-lined cases that are perfect available as a for the task. Their online designer lets you select cutout shapes monochrome based on the eyepieces and other products that you own. Move or one-shot each shape around until the layout is just as you want it, and with color system. the click of your mouse, your custom-cut case is ready to order.

76 ASTRONOMY • SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 77 NEW MOON TELESCOPES PIER-TECH 20 12.5-inch f/5 Dobsonian 25 PT2 adjustable pier A comparative new kid on the Pier-Tech adjustable tele- SOFTWARE BISQUE block, New Moon Telescopes scope piers make climbing 28 Paramount ME II Robotic includes some novel design a ladder to look through an features not seen in other simi- eyepiece a thing of the Telescope Mount lar truss-tube scopes. My past. With the push of a Software Bisque took its favorite innovation is how the button, you can move an already successful Para- eight truss tubes come pre- equatorially mounted tele- mount ME German assembled. Then you can scope up and down a full equatorial mount and assemble and set the second- 20 inches (51 centimeters), made it even better. The ary cage and truss tubes on the bringing the eyepiece to ME II features a more mirror box as a single unit. you, whether seated or robust frame that can This way, you don’t have to standing. The company’s carry up to 240 pounds climb up a ladder in the dark smallest adjustable pier, (110 kilograms) while to place the secondary cage on the Pier-Tech 2, can carry a only weighing 84 pounds top of the poles. telescope weighing up to (38kg) itself. Massive 8-inch right ascension and declination 215 pounds (98 kilograms). bearings coupled to belt-driven gears promise spot-on tracking The larger Pier-Tech 3 can accuracy. Equipment cables run through the mount for a clean hold up to 1,100 pounds appearance, while a pair of USB ports on the control panel ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS (500kg), while the Pier- makes it easy to connect to a computer or guiding accessories. 23 Dob Pod Tech 4 can handle as much as 1,600 pounds (725kg). One of the most common complaints about 10-inch and smaller SOFTWARE BISQUE Dobsonian telescopes is the low height of the eyepiece, espe- 29 TheSKY HD cially when aimed toward the horizon. Orion’s solution to this PROTOSTAR dilemma is called the Dob Pod. Made of melamine-coated par- 26 Tube liners TheSKY was one of the first ticle board, the Dob Pod has slots that match the locations of personal planetarium software the small feet underneath the Orion telescope’s base. Place the Metal-tubed reflectors are conve- packages sold, and it just keeps OLIVON base of any compatible Dobsonian reflector onto the Dob Pod, nient to set up because they usually getting better. Now, more than 21 1.25" 5-Piece Filter Wheel with and the unit will raise the entire telescope a foot (30 centime- hold collimation well. But unless three decades later, you can ters) higher off the ground. the inside of the tube is coated flat download the latest incarna- 5 Filters black, internal reflections can spoil tion, TheSKY HD, onto your iPad. With it, you can identify Using filters can greatly enhance objects. But swapping filters in the view. Protostar tube liners constellations, stars, planets, and thousands of other celestial the dark, especially while wearing gloves, can be tedious at best. ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS eliminate the reflections. By sliding the liner into the tube, the objects, including satellites, comets, asteroids, and even Iridium Olivon’s all-metal 5-Piece Filter Wheel allows the observer to 24 Dob Dolly textured black surface ensures complete suppression of stray flares, from your observing site. switch easily between up to five different filters — which Olivon light. The liner also insulates the tube from the optical path, provides — simply by rotating them in and out of the optical Now that the eyepiece is at a more comfortable height, how creating an air gap between the two to improve image stability. path. It’s perfect for planetary and lunar observation with color about some help moving your Dobsonian reflector around? STELLARVUE filters or deep-sky viewing with light pollution filters. Orion designed its Dob Dolly to match the Dob Pod and made 30 SVQ 100 Quad Astrograph it compatible with many Dobsonians up to 10 inches in aper- SKY-WATCHER USA ture. Three casters underneath the triangular unit let you roll 27 Esprit ED Triplet APO Refractors Looking for a super-portable refractor that is perfect for astro- OPTEC your assembled telescope on pavement and other smooth sur- photography as well as for visual observing? The Stellarvue 22 FocusLynx Focuser Hub faces. Once in position, raise the Dob Dolly off the ground with All four Esprit APO refractors, from the 80mm f/5 to the 150mm SVQ 100 should be on your short list. The SVQ 100 measures the three threaded levelers, and you are ready to observe. f/7, feature objective lenses with three elements — including one only 19.25 inches (48.9 centimeters) long with dew shield Advanced astrophotogra- of O’Hara FPL-53 glass — for superior false-color suppression. retracted and weighs just 10.8 pounds (4.9 kilograms). But it phers appreciate the pre- Each Esprit also comes nicely equipped with a thread-on doublet packs a punch thanks to its four-element 100mm f/5.8 apochro- cise focusing control field flattener for photography, an oversized focuser with micro- matic objective. Making a good thing even better, the telescope offered by the FocusLynx focus, a 2" dielectrically coated star diagonal, an also comes standard with a 3" Feather Touch focuser. Focuser Hub. With this 8x50 right-angle finder scope, and an alumi- product in place, you can num carrying case. adjust up to two Optec or Starlight focusers simul- taneously and indepen- dently via a computer, smartphone, or optional hand controller.

78 ASTRONOMY • SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 79 TEETER’S TELESCOPES WALT’S OBSERVING CHAIRS 31 TT/Sub4 22-inch Dob 34 Observing chairs 2014 If you have true aper- Astronomy’s Star Products ture fever but prefer to keep your feet on # COMPANY PRODUCT PRICE WEBSITE the ground rather 1 Apogee Imaging Systems Aspen CG16M CCD camera $11,875 www.ccd.com than scale the heights to the eyepiece, Tee- 2 Astro Hutech Flat-top Orthoscopic Eyepieces $99 to $119 www.hutech.com ter’s Telescopes may 3 Astronomers Without Borders OneSky tabletop Newtonian $199.99 http://store. be your salvation. astronomerswithoutborders.org The company’s line 4 Astro-Tech 12-inch truss-tube Ritchey-Chrétien $4,495 www.astronomytechnologies. of Sub4 reflectors, optical tube com each with focal ratios less than f/4, do just 5 Astronomy Technology Today Astronomy Technology Today $18 print; www. that. Its latest and $10 digital astronomytechnologytoday.com largest addition, the 6 Astrozap Light Shrouds for Sky-Watcher Dobs $69 to $109 www.astrozap.com 22-inch f/3.3, puts a 7 Avalon Instruments M-Zero Fast-Reverse single-arm mount $4,800 www.avalon-instruments.com monstrous primary mirror into a tele- 8 Baader Planetarium Q-Turret $85 www.alpineastro.com scope that stands less than 70 inches (178 centimeters) off the 9 Baader Planetarium Steeltrack Crayford focusers $294 to $467 www.alpineastro.com ground. And as with all Teeter’s scopes, craftsmanship and 10 Celestron COSMOS 90GT WiFi Telescope $399.95 www.celestron.com standard equipment combine to make it one of the best on the market today. 11 Celestron Skyris CCD imagers $449.95 to $899.95 www.celestron.com 12 Celestron Off-Axis Guider $249.95 www.celestron.com VIXEN 13 Denkmeier Solar observing Optical Correctors $199 to $299 www.denkmeier.com 32 R130Sf Newtonian Reflector with 14 Explore Scientific 152mm Achromatic Refractor $849.99 www.explorescientific.com Porta II Mount 15 Howie Glatter Parallizer $45 www.collimator.com Vixen’s R130Sf 5-inch Newtonian 16 Istar Optical Phoenix WFT 204-6 $3,499 www.istar-optical.com telescope is a great medium-aperture Observing chairs help relieve the stress and strain associated 17 Losmandy StarLapse $575 www.losmandy.com instrument in a portable package. with hours of concentrated effort at the telescope. But to be The Porta II Mount is a high-quality effective, they need to be widely adjustable in height. Walt’s 18 MallinCam MallinCam Jr PRO $599.99 www.mallincam.net alt-azimuth unit whose mount Observing Chairs are just that. Made of wood, each has a com- 19 MyCaseBuilder Custom cases $20 to $1,238 www.mycasebuilder.com damps vibrations from bumps, wind, fortable seat and an adjustable footrest. The height ranges from 20 New Moon Telescopes 12.5-inch f/5 Dobsonian $3,898 www.newmoontelescopes.com and even focusing better than many other nearly ground level to about 40 inches (1 meter) above the similar telescope mounts. In addition to ground. A shorter version, sans footrest, is also available. 21 Olivon 1.25" 5-Piece Filter Wheel with 5 Filters $99 www.olivonusa.com the optical tube and the mount, Vixen 22 Optec FocusLynx Focuser Hub $295 www.optecinc.com includes a 6x30 finder scope, a 1¼" 23 Orion Telescopes & Binoculars Dob Pod $129.99 www.telescope.com adapter, 6.3mm and 20mm eyepieces, WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY PRESS tube rings, and a dovetail plate. 24 Orion Telescopes & Binoculars Dob Dolly $129.99 www.telescope.com 35 21st Century Atlas of the Moon 25 Pier-Tech PT2 adjustable pier $2,500 www.pier-tech.com As light pollution swallows up VIXEN more of our night sky, many 26 Protostar Tube liners $48 to $64 www.fpi-protostar.com 33 SLV Series Eyepieces deep-sky observers are turn- 27 Sky-Watcher USA Esprit ED Triplet APO Refractors $1,649 to $6,399 www.skywatcherusa.com ing their telescopes toward the 28 Software Bisque Paramount ME II Robotic Telescope $15,000 www.bisque.com This line continues the company’s tradition that began with its Moon for in-depth study. This Mount Lanthanum LV eyepieces a decade ago, while taking them to the high-resolution visual guide, next level. All 11 eyepieces in the SLV series, which range in created by lunar scientist 29 Software Bisque TheSky HD $29.99 www.bisque.com focal length from 2.5mm to 25mm (plus a zoom), offer a com- Charles Wood and amateur 30 Stellarvue SVQ 100 Quad Astrograph $3,800 www.stellarvue.com fortably long 20mm of eye relief, twist-up eyecups, and flat spots astronomer Maurice Collins, 31 Teeter’s Telescopes TT/Sub4 22-inch Dob $11,250 www.teeterstelescopes.com around the housing’s is the perfect companion for circumference to anyone wanting to get more 32 Vixen Optics R130Sf Newtonian Reflector with Porta II $399 www.vixenoptics.com keep the eyepieces out of our nearest space neigh- Mount from rolling away in bor. Images from NASA’s 33 Vixen Optics SLV Series Eyepieces $169 www.vixenoptics.com the dark. Best of all, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show the Moon’s Earth-facing 34 Walt’s Observing Chairs Observing chairs $185 to $225 www.waltsobservingchairs.com each has fully multi- side in exquisite detail, and you also will find maps showing coated Lanthanum details along the limb as well as on the farside. These make this 35 West Virginia University Press 21st Century Atlas of the Moon $29.99 www.wvupressonline.com glass for sharp, high- book as visually interesting to enjoy inside as our nearest celes- contrast views. tial neighbor is through the eyepiece.

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