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Astronomy shirts: with these the stars look good on you.

April 3 2020, Marcus Schenk

Fashion and astronomy: do they go together? Amateur astronomers have always liked to show other people what excites them. You don’t even have to be inspired by nerds like Sheldon Cooper. Astro fans can do it alone. Do you love the Universe? Show it off with Omegon’s space shirts!

These black T-shirts are made of quality cotton and are comfortable to wear all day long. An elaborately-produced digital print ensures a stable motif and long-lasting fresh colours. Available in sizes M, L, XL, 2XL and 3XL and in regular or unisex fit. The T-shirts are designed and printed in the EU.

Milky-Way

The Milky Way – our home. When you take a look at this shirt, you can immediately visualise where our solar system is located: on the edge of the Orion Arm in our galaxy.

The Milky Way shirt with the position of our solar system.

Star chart

A view of the starry sky: where is the Big Dipper, where is the Summer Triangle? You will find it immediately on this star chart.

Star chart T-shirt: The starry sky all day long.

Solar system

Our planets! How far away are they, how long does it take to orbit the Sun and how many moons does Jupiter have again? This T-shirt not only looks great, it is also very informative. A wearable infographic of the solar system.

The T-shirt with lots of information about the planets.

4. The Dobsonian observer

Go on the look-out again, and enjoy observing galaxies and nebulae with your Dobsonian telescope. All you need is a telescope and the canopy of stars. A really special feeling.

The T-shirt for Dobsonian observers.

Meteor shower

A forest in darkness and shooting stars in the sky. A T-shirt for astronomers and anyone who wants to be a little closer to the stars.

Omegon T-shirt meteor shower

6. Astrophotography

A notebook, power and a telescope: who wouldn’t think that this is about astrophotographers. After all, the most beautiful images of the Universe are thanks to them. For anyone who likes to collect and capture photons with their telescope, this T-shirt is the garment of choice.

Our astrophotography T-shirt.

So which T-shirt will you wear at the next get-together with your astro-friends?

Tags: Omegon, T-Shirt
Posted in New Products »

Now available: the new MGEN autoguider from Lacerta!

March 19 2020, Stefan Taube

An autoguider is a very important accessory when taking astronomy photos involving long exposure times. The autoguider is a tracking control device that ensures that the mount always keeps the telescope pointing as precisely as possible at the astronomical object desired. The autoguider images a bright star on a separate camera in order to achieve this. The autoguider then uses the apparent movement of this star to calculate the appropriate control movements for the mount.

Lacerta Stand Alone Autoguider MGEN Version 3

Lacerta MGEN Version 3 stand-alone autoguider

It is possible to use a simple planetary camera, a laptop and free software from the Internet for this type of tracking control. The MGEN autoguider from Lacerta has also proven itself to be excellent. But the great advantage of using the MGEN autoguider is that you don’t even need a laptop or PC; hence the term ‘stand-alone’ autoguider. In particular, this type of stand-alone solution makes astrophotography with SLR cameras much easier, as you do not need a laptop when using this type of camera.

The MGEN autoguider also comes supplied with a matching camera and already has all the necessary software – simpler autoguiding is just not possible! Another great advantage is that the MGEN autoguider does not just use a single star for the tracking control, but several. This has the effect of increasing accuracy considerably! The following graphic comes from a test by the manufacturer and illustrates the higher precision you achieve with multi-star guiding:

Durch das Multistar Guiding ist die Nachführkontrolle unabhängig vom Seeing.

Multi-star guiding also means that tracking control is less dependent on the seeing.

The new version MGEN-3 autoguider offers many other improvements:

improved hardware allows the new, self-learning, AI multi-star guiding.
the large colour display makes operation easier.
the new quick-start function allows guiding to commence at the push of a button!
polar alignment using the digital Scheiner method.
power supply via USB (5V), only 1.2 watts.

This is, however, just a small selection. You can find the entire list of advantages on the Lacerta MGEN Version 3 stand-alone autoguider webpage.

Tags: Lacerta, Astro Photography
Posted in New Products »

Radiant LED finder: Now with an exclusive bonus to help find objects more easily

February 21 2020, Marcus Schenk

It should be easy, but sometimes it really is exasperating. How am I supposed to find a galaxy, a nebula in the sky, when there are hardly any reference points?

The solution: the Radiant finder. With three circles in divisions of a half, two and four degrees, you use a two-dimensional search device; this offers an invaluable advantage over a simple LED finder with a projected dot. Indeed, astronomers who started with point-finders have often needed years to develop the necessary system or routine so that they could find something easily.

The idea of easily finding objects differs fundamentally from actual practice, but why is this?

Well, because at the beginning, you still need some practice to transfer that which you see on the star chart to the sky. For example, how do I find the famous Owl Nebula M97? How can I visualise that in the sky?

Now there is a helpful solution to this: The Radiant Special Lineal
This makes it easier to find objects in the sky. You just place the transparent tool onto your star atlas and you can then find out how far, and in which directions, you need to move the circles in the sky. For example, place the centre of the circle on the lower-right star, Merak in the Big Dipper. Point roughly towards the 3.6 mag bright star, x UMa, and move Merak to the edge of the outer circle – M97 will already be in the centre. You can then do the same with your telescope in the evening.

It is like painting by numbers in the sky!

BONUS: Exclusively for Radiant purchasers
From now on, when you purchase a Radiant finder, you will also be given the special lineal with Radiant circles. This helpful tool is not available separately, you can only get it as a free bonus when you buy a Radiant finder.

Would you like to be able to find objects more easily? You can find the Radiant Finder with an Astro Lineal here!

Tags: Omegon, Telescope Accessories, Radiant, LED finder, red dot finder
Posted in New Products »

Skywatcher EQ8-R: The new observatory class mount!

February 5 2020, Stefan Taube

Skywatcher’s EQ8 series astronomical mounts are the most capable models from this manufacturer. They can carry telescopes and accessories weighing up to 50 kilograms! This makes EQ8 mounts particularly interesting for observatories – no matter whether garden, school or club observatories.

Skywatcher EQ8-R mount with tripod

Skywatcher has updated its EQ8 mount and now offers it in two versions: the EQ8-R and EQ8-RH mounts. The EQ8-RH version has a high-resolution Renishaw encoder on the right ascension axis. This eliminates the need for tracking control during astrophotography.

Both versions of the EQ8-R mount come supplied with the Skywatcher’s proven SynScan control.

These latest EQ8 models offer the following improvements as compared to the initial version:

Internal cable routing prevents cable clutter and cable damage
More connection options for accessories: 4x USB, 3x 12 volt outputs
Optimized positioning of the drive motors for improved balance
Improved clutches on the axes for a more secure grip
Improved clamping screws on the prism clamp for greater comfort and greater clamping force
Belt drive on the declination axis for smoother running

Skywatcher offers a special tripod for its EQ8 mount. The tripod also allows portable use of the mount, but does require two people for setting it up.

If you want to set up the mount on a fixed pier, you can simply order the EQ8 mount without the tripod. The tripod may also be ordered at a later date. All versions of the EQ8 mount can be found here at Astroshop.

With its EQ8-R, Skywatcher offers a modern mount for large OTAs – which the latest stage of development has made almost perfect!

Tags: Skywatcher, Mount
Posted in New Products »

Star Theater Pro: Bring the stars into your living room!

January 10 2020, Marcus Schenk

Admittedly, it is nice when we can stand outside under the starry night sky and gaze at countless real stars in the countryside away from the cities.

But what if that just isn’t possible? Perhaps clouds are moving across the sky like an infinitely long caravan, whilst the weather is only beautiful above them. Or the city is masking the stars with its own light – so that even the people of Alpha Centauri can see something of Berlin. Oh dear! Astronomy and space fans will need something to comfort them in such circumstances.

That means it’s time for the Omegon Star Theater Pro.

Space from the comfort of your couch

You can bring the night sky down into your living room and easily project it onto the wall or the ceiling. You observe your own little universe in complete darkness. Or you can view the planets just like from a spaceship and pay a visit to the Helix nebula. You could almost believe that you were really floating in the Universe while lying on your couch – perhaps with a blanket and some soft ‘space music’ playing.

So the night sky looks particularly realistic

Additionally-available discs can be inserted to project the Milky Way and an actual night sky onto the ceiling. We recommend the impressively beautiful image on the Milky Way slide. This disc gives you a very realistic impression.

This slide provides an impressive viewing experience

Sleeping under the firmament with no mosquitos or cold

The Star Theater Pro lets you relax after a hard day’s work and imagine yourself in the Universe. That is why our customers like to use it as a compact mood lighting or night light with a 30- or 60-minute timer that can be used to gently lull you to sleep.

How about making it a Christmas present for a good astronomy friend or your children this year? They will thank you with a sparkle in their eyes.

The Omegon Star Theater Pro has all these advantages:

– compact home planetarium that relaxes you and shows you the stars from your couch.

– powerful lighting: the stars projected onto the ceiling are so bright that you can even make out the dimmer ones.

– perfect for falling asleep to – switches off automatically after 30 or 60 minutes if desired.

– freely adjustable projection distance of the night sky up to 7.5 meters.

– rotation of the night sky – makes the night sky look even more interesting.

– a journey into the Universe – the optionally-available star slides let you travel to Saturn, to the Lagoon nebula or even far out to the galaxies.

– attractively designed gift packaging.

The Star Theater Pro home planetarium is a superb gift for anyone who wants to while away some time under the stars. And what are you giving away this year? Perhaps the entire Universe!

Tags: Omegon, Planetarium
Posted in New Products »

The SkyGuider Pro camera mount from iOptron is now available with an electronic polar finder

January 8 2020, Stefan Taube

The SkyGuider Pro is a very light mount on which you can set up a camera with interchangeable lenses or a small telescope. This approach allows longer exposure times and so you can create fascinating wide-angle shots of the night sky.

iOptron Montierung SkyGuider Pro iPolar Set

iOptron Mount SkyGuider Pro iPolar Set

The SkyGuider Pro is now also available as a set together with the iPolar electronic polar finder, which has been built into the mount. With this accessory, you can easily and very precisely polar-align your mount.

The electronic finder has a built-in camera. This shows the position of the northern celestial pole and the location that the polar axis of the mount is pointing at, on your laptop. Simply bring the two points together by turning the adjustment screws for the azimuth and altitude axes of the mount – and you’re done!

SkyGuider Pro with iPolar

The location of the celestial north pole differs somewhat from the location of the Pole Star. The electronics calculate the exact position using the date and time. Thanks to the sensitivity of the camera and the large field of view, this so-called polar alignment is successful even when the mount has been only roughly positioned. This also works in the southern hemisphere and even takes into account atmospheric refraction at low latitudes!

If want to do without iPolar, you can of course still purchase the SkyGuider Pro mount without the electronic polar finder here.

Tags: iOptron, Telescope Accessories, Mount, Astrophotography
Posted in New Products|New Products »

Omegon DigiStar: The easy way to make small things really big.

January 7 2020, Achim Mros

With 4.3″ LCD display

This digital reflected-light microscope offers really good observing possibilities. The ease of use and the fascinating observation results are absolutely amazing. The tiniest subjects such as minerals, minute creatures, electronic assemblies, coins and much more are reproduced, highly magnified, on the 4.3″ display. Here you get a device that offers lots of fun for a very reasonable price.

Images can be saved onto an optional SD card and processed on a PC. Even short demo videos are possible. The aluminium stand is of high quality and neatly finished. The actual microscope head with LCD display is raised and lowered using the rack and pinion drive. The closer you lower the LCD head to the sample, the higher the magnification. You can adjust the focus using the control dial under the display. A full magnification of 200x can be achieved manually in this way. If that’s still not enough, you can digitally increase this in two steps up to 600x by using the two arrow keys under the display. The eight super-bright LEDs ensure that the sample is perfectly illuminated. Of course, the brightness is infinitely adjustable.

The built-in battery is charged using a power supply plug. The microscope can therefore be used outdoors for many hours, far away from any power source.

Tags: LCD microscope, Omegon, Microscope
Posted in New Products »

New Starfleet: The Omegon PRO Apochromats for Astrophotographers

November 19 2019, Marcus Schenk

These photos almost look like you were there. As if Captain Kirk was giving me a personal tour of the Pleiades on his command bridge screen on the Enterprise. However, what you see in the pictures below are images taken with the new Omegon PRO apochromats. And we swear, they were all taken from Earth 😉

So on to more beautiful photos.

Omegon’s new doublet, triplet and quadruplet refractors are a real compact Starfleet for astrophotographers who value brilliant and needle-sharp photos of the universe. The lens apertures range from 65mm to 107mm. There’s the right telescope for everybody.

The Omegon Pro APO 60/330 OTA.

Features include: Ohara FPL-53 glass for a true-colour image, CNC tube, hybrid rack and pinion focuser with, ball bearings and 360° rotation, tube clamps, dovetail bar, viewfinder shoe and Vixen-style dovetail bar.

The Pleiades with reflection nebula, APO 71/450 Quadruplet, Canon 6Da, 32×180 seconds, Image: Philipp Keltenich

The Andromeda Galaxy, APO 71/450 Quadruplet, Canon 6Da, 25×240 seconds, Image: Philipp Keltenich

And here is the fleet of telescopes at a glance:

Apo 60/330 Doublet OTA #60852
A small doublet apochromat for travel and for striking panoramic pictures.
Apo 71/450 Quadruplet OTA #60855
For fantastically beautiful, true-colour and flat images right up to the edges of the field of view. Here you don’t have to worry about how to attach a field flattener to your camera, because it’s already built-in. A great flat field apochromat!
Apo 72/400 Doublet OTA #60853
If you like to travel and love shooting large-area objects, you will love this refractor. A clear picture and only 400mm focal length, it captures the Andromeda Galaxy and similar objects.
Apo 80/500 Triplet OTA #60856
An apochromat with a clear and true-colour image, even at very high magnifications. The expertly-crafted 2.5″ focuser is larger than that of most 80mm telescopes. The advantage: so much illumination that even your full-frame camera will have fun with it. By the way, we also stock the carbon version of these apochromats: chic, thermally-stable and even lighter.
Apo 90/600 Triplet OTA #60858
Weighing just 5 kilograms but with a 90mm aperture: this apo refractor is suitable for your mount at home or for travelling under a dark sky. The 2.5″ focuser holds your camera in a stable position all night long.
Apo 107/700 Triplet OTA #60859
Sophisticated three-lens design with Ohara glass for a clear and true-colour image. A 3″ focuser offers you a generously illuminated field of view and an enormous load-bearing capacity – a great advantage for heavy cameras.

Get to know the new Omegon apo fleet better, just click on the links and learn more on our product pages.

Tags: Omegon, Apochromat, telescope
Posted in New Products »

Omegon MiniTrack LX3: get ready for liftoff with heavenly photos of the starry sky

November 15 2019, Marcus Schenk

A photo of the starry sky that looks exactly how it would look on a clear night in the mountains or in the desert: this is a dream you can now fulfil with the new MiniTrack LX3. The new mini-mount ensures you are well-prepared and is now even more powerful than its predecessor, the MiniTrack LX2.

The new MiniTrack LX3 mount

It is much easier than you think to take a fantastic photo of the starry sky. You don’t even have to be an experienced astrophotographer. In a dark location, align the mount to the north celestial pole, attach your camera, wind up the mechanism and start your recording. With the MiniTrack LX3, anyone can conjure up a beautiful photo of the starry sky – almost as easy as boiling an egg

Until now you’ve almost certainly been aware of the MiniTrack LX2: a fully mechanical small mount that you can attach to any commercially available camera tripod and which is so compact that it fits into any luggage. The new version, the MiniTrack LX3, has been revised yet again and is now better than ever. Sky&Telescope magazine awarded the MiniTrack the “Hot Product Award” and the users of the MiniTrack are also certain: you can not only take beautiful photos. With the MiniTrack LX3, the starry sky presents itself as if it were on the catwalk.

What has changed?

More load-bearing capacity: now you can attach a camera up to 3kg in weight.
New Teflon bush for even smoother movement.
Adjustable suspension system: you can slow down or speed up tracking, making it more precise and the stars rounder.
CNC body: more stable and even more finely finished.
An optical polar finder is already included. This allows more precise polar alignment of the MiniTrack LX3 – and you can expose your photo for longer.

Let yourself be inspired by the Omegon MiniTrack LX3 and learn more about the compact travel mount here.

Tags: Omegon, Minitrack
Posted in New Products|New Products »

Now in stock: The Vaonis STELLINA smart telescope!

November 6 2019, Elias Erdnüß

Vaonis STELLINA: innovative control, top-quality design, high-tech

Observing the starry sky through a telescope is an unmatchable experience. However, observing some targets can be an anti-climax or even a disappointment: faint nebulae and galaxies are often only visible as shadowy undefined spots of light.

Beautiful details and colours are usually only possible with the help of astrophotography, where the light captured by the telescope is collected and accumulated over long periods of time, creating stunning images of these faint deep sky objects.

Astrophotography however is a hobby with an extremely steep learning curve. For a beginner it can be many months before the first beautiful picture is produced. Even after mastering the first steps in astrophotography, it takes many hours of processing the images before the nebula or galaxy is revealed in all its beauty.

The fully automatic STELLINA smart telescope from the French start-up company Vaonis promises to combine the advantages of astrophotography with the direct experience of live observing. This is done in as user-friendly a way as possible since the telescope has no eyepiece, but instead has an integrated camera. This means that images are continually being collected and processed. Using a smartphone or tablet you can watch live as, over the course of a few minutes, more and more details of the target become visible.

The control and operation of the telescope is revolutionary and simple. At the push of a button, STELLINA orients itself completely independently using visible stars. The desired observing target is then selected using a smartphone or tablet. The telescope travels to the correct location in the sky – that’s it!

M83, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy – with STELLINA, details and colours are clearly visible in the spiral arms.

Of course we at Astroshop were also curious whether STELLINA actually keeps its promises. Luckily, we have already been able to test it. As a matter of fact, we have never seen a GoTo telescope that can be controlled so intuitively and easily without prior experience. Even after a short time, the resulting pictures show an incredible amount of detail compared to what is expected from a conventional telescope. Although the quality of the images is not quite comparable to those from a professional astrophotographer, (here an automatic process can’t yet replace the expert), the images are almost immediately visible, not only after hours of processing. Therefore STELLINA is perfect for shared observing with friends and acquaintances.

Until now this telescope was only available by pre-order. From now on Vaonis STELLINA is in stock and directly available. The ideal high-end Christmas gift!

Tip: A guide for photographers on how to get started with simple astrophotography. Read also the article „A Beginners Guide to Astrophotography“ on the pixpa blog.

Tags: telescope, camera, Mount, Astrophotography, Vaonis
Posted in New Products »