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Posts Tagged 'hot-product'

Omegon MiniTrack LX2 Receives „Hot Product 2019“ Award

December 10 2018, Marcus Schenk

The Omegon MiniTrack LX2 is the world’s first fully-mechanical photo mount for wide-field astrophotography.  With just a simple twist, you can capture amazing photos of the Milky Way.  This year the LX2 has received the much coveted astronomy award “Hot Product 2019” that the magazine Sky & Telescope awards annually to especially innovative products.

The Omegon Mini Track LX2 (or the set with the photography ball-head) makes a great gift for beginners and nature photographers, who would like to capture the night sky along with an amazing landscape.  If you have already tried with traditional means, but have not been satisfied with the results, the Mini Track LX2 is much simpler.  The proof is easy to see, if you look at the many amazing photos take with the LX2 and posted on social media.

More info about the Mini Track LX2 mount is available here. Gift-giving during this holiday season will be a piece of cake with the Mini Track LX2.

 

Below, you can read up on other, special products in our assortment, which have also received the “Hot Product” seal of approval:

The Mead Deep Sky Imager IV

The new and improved Planetary and Deep Sky Camera from Meade has convinced reviewers.  With a 16 megapixel Panasonic CMOS-Sensor, thermoelectric cooling, USB 3.0 and 3.8 µm pixels, the camera is a strong multi-use device for astrophotographers, who want to limits in their photography.  The new Deep-Sky-Imager IV is available in color or monochrome.  The software SkyCapture makes other programs superfluous and you can use if for all your photographic purposes.  The software runs on Windows and MacOS, as well as Linux.

Meade Deep-Sky-Imager DSI IV

Meade Deep-Sky-Imager DSI IV

 

Hubble Optics N 607/2012 UL24 f/3.3 Premium Ultra-Light DOB

“BIG DOB TO GO” is the moniker Sky & Telescope gave to the huge 24” Truss Dobson from Hubble Optics.  And for good reason.  The telescope can be broken down into individual pieces and transported in even the most compact vehicles.  Just imagine taking a telescope, as big as in many observatories, to the mountains or to a nice dark pasture.  You are sure to have quite the stargazing experience!

 

Hubble Optics Dobson Teleskop N 607/2012 UL24 f/3.3 Premium Ultra Light DOB

The Hubble Optics Ultra Light Dob with 607mm Aperture

 

Celestron Telescope Astrograph S 203/400 RASA 800 OTA

A digital Schmidt Camera for wide-angle photos!  The Celestron Astrograph RASA takes photos 20 times faster, than a Schmidt-Cassergrain Telescope.  The results are awe-inspiring photos of large-scale celestial objects. In 30 seconds, you can capture, what would require 10 minutes with a f/10 telescope.

 

RASA 8

The Astrograph 203/400mm RASA

 

iOptron Mount CEM120 GoTo

The heaviest mount from iOptron can handle instruments up to 52 kg and is fully LAN and Wifi remote capable.  In spite of its size, the mount moves smoothly like a hot knife through butter.

CEM 120 Montierung

The heavy-duty CEM 120 Mount

 

Daystar SS60-DS Solar Telescope

A compact solar telescope with 60mm aperture for safe solar viewing in H-alpha.  Daystar integrated a double stack Etalon Filter from the QUARK series into this refractor, which meanwhile has written a little success story of its own in solar observing.  Here, you get everything in one package, with which you can see solar protuberances, filaments and flares – everything that raises the pulse of a solar observer.  Attaching a camera to the helical focuser and you can capture your observations for good.

Daystar Sonnenteleskop SS60-DS

DayStar-Solar Telescope ST 60/930mm SolarScout SS60-DS H-Alpha

 

Celestron Smartphone Adapter

The easy way to connect your smartphone to your telescope with the Celestron Smartphone Adapter, which can be adjusted with precision on three axes.  Now you can easily position your smartphone’s camera over the eyepiece.

Celetron Smartphone Halterung

Celetron Smartphone Adapter NexYZ

 

 

Lunatico Pocket CloudWatcher

The Pocket CloudWatcher keeps an eye on the clouds on your behalf.  This weather and cloud detection device, which alerts you, when something changes in the sky.  The mobile CloudWatcher measures temperatures, brightness, relative humidity, dewpoint and alerts you immediately on your smartphone, when clouds move in.  The perfect gift for astrophotographers.

Cloud Watcher

Lunatico Pocket CloudWatcher

 

A few years ago, but still a great device:

Hot Product 2017: Universe2go

This AR Planetarium, which shows you and simultaneously explains the night sky.  There is no need to spend your time with star charts and books.  Universe2go is like a visit to the planetarium, but all in a handheld viewer that augments your reality.  Just download the free app, put your smartphone into the viewer and look up into the night sky.  The magazine Sky & Telescope was so enthusiastic about Universe2go that it received the Hot Product 2017 Award.

 

Omegon Handheld Planetarium Universe2go

The advantages?

  • Your impression of the real starry night sky gets an overhaul with a superimposed digital picture.
  • Learn about all 88 constellations and numerous celestial objects
  • Where are the planets? With Universe2go, you can find them all!
  • Over 3 hours of audio explanations, which will make you an expert of the night sky.
  • Many more features!

In the current issue, Sky & Telescope introduced many more products in the Hot Product category.

 

“Hot Product 2018” by Sky & Telescope

February 9 2018, Stefan Taube

At the beginning of each new year, the magazine Sky & Telescope features interesting product developments. The criteria are innovation, an elegant solution to a typical problem, or the particularly high quality of a product.

We would like to present from this long list of “Hot Products 2018” those that we also considered to be particularly noteworthy:

 

Explore Scientific GoTo control PMC-8 with WIFi

ES-PMC-8

The company, Explore Scientific, has developed a control system that, in conjunction with the app, ExploreStars, enables wireless control of astronomical mounts via a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device. You will receive this control system in combination with two tried and tested mounts with completely different load-bearing capacity, namely:

 

Stargate Dobsons by Skywatcher

Stargate-Dobson

For the purists who would rather invest in optics than in electronics, the Skywatcher Dobsonian N 458/1900 StarGate-450P telescope is a dream! The Dobsonian telescope with truss tube, mirrors and a lightweight construction collects a great deal of light, but despite its size, it is still relatively easy to transport.

Sky&Telescope awarded both motorized Stargate versions with GoTo control:

They are equipped with the tried and tested SynScan control system, which helps you to find celestial objects and then automatically guides the telescope.

Mini Star Adventurer by Skywatcher

Mini Star Adventurer

Camera mounts have taken a positive development in recent years. Thanks to the high demand for this very immediate method of astrophotography, manufacturers are always coming up with new innovations. Sky & Telescope awarded the Mini Star Adventurer by Skywatcher. This mount also creates its own WIFI, so it can be controlled via the app. This eliminates the need for a manual control box; control is done wirelessly – and thus vibration-free – and the clear graphic user interface can be used for adjusting your mobile device.

Things that make the life of astronomers easier and lovelier

Orion Astrolampe

The many smaller things on which Sky & Telescope has bestowed the Hot Product Award 2018, include the Astro Lamp by Orion, which, of course, can also be operated with glare-free red light. The editors of the magazine also like:

  • Diagonal mirror with TwistTight fixation for 1,25″ and 2″ connector diameter, also by Orion. This special fixation centres the accessory, keeps it secure, won’t scratch, and can be screwed in place while wearing gloves.
  • The “bible” for one of the most powerful astrophotography programs Inside PixInsight by Springer Verlag. The book is available in English, and is very popular. The book is published in the Practical Astronomy
  • Sky & Telescope has also awarded its own Globes. At least for the Pluto Globe, this is most justified. The globe shows the spectacular view of the dwarf planet, Pluto, as the New Horizons spacecraft revealed in 2015.

Mount and accessories for observatories

Paramount Taurus

We can help you with advice and support for your observatory project. This also includes the high-end products by Software Bisque. So, we are pleased that Sky & telescope has awarded the recently developed bracket mountings, Paramount Taurus.

The Spanish company, Lunático, is making a useful accessory for observatories. Its remote control, Dragonfly, has made it to the list of Hot Products 2018.

Every year, it is interesting to see what products the well-known magazine, Sky & telescope, will award – and we are pleased that every year, these award-winning products are already part of our offer.