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Now available: face masks

May 18 2020, Marcus Schenk

The corona virus is regarded as a cause of the Covid-19 (SARS-Cov-2) disease. The recently-implemented mandatory wearing of face masks helps us to contain the virus. Therefore, we are offering you cotton or polyester non-medical face masks, and special respirators with KN95 filtering effect.

Face masks from MYONE

Cotton face masks

Masketo’s washable fabric masks are black and are made of 100% cotton. This means: you can easily wash them in the washing machine at 60°C and reuse them. The nose clip can be adjusted as necessary, so you can be sure that the mask fits you perfectly. The big advantage over disposable paper masks: they save money, eliminate waste and most people find that breathing through a fabric mask is significantly more comfortable.

The masks from MYONE are also made of 100% cotton, are available in white, and are anatomically designed in sizes M and L. The advantage: they are just as comfortable as the Masketo black masks, however thanks to the design, a nose clip is not necessary. Therefore, you can also sterilize the mask in the microwave.

Note: These masks serve to reduce the risk of transmission in the environment through airborne infection. This is not a medical product within the definition of the MPG, and is not personal protective equipment (PPE).

Respirators with KN95 filtering effect

The respirators with the KN95 filtering effect protect both you and your environment at the same time. According to Wikipedia, they are functionally equivalent to the FFP2 respirators, which are mostly reserved for medical staff. It’s just good to know you’re protected when you are out and about in public. Especially if you have contact with a lot of other people. This makes the KN95 masks great: because 95% of the particles greater than 0.3 μm are filtered.

Masks with astronomical designs

As a hobby astronomer or space fan you absolutely need something like this: face masks with astronomical designs.

Although you could be mistaken: the name of the “Corona Borealis” face masks has really nothing to do with the virus. It is the Latin name of the Northern Crown. The mask features the design of this beautiful constellation with its main star Alpha Coronae Borealis.

Good to know: Soon we will also be offering face masks with other attractive astronomical images.

Every purchase helps to save lives

Many countries have been badly hit by Covid-19, ventilation equipment and medical care is in short supply. How can we help? For every order we will forward EUR 1 to “Doctors Without Borders”. In the Corona crisis, the humanitarian organization fights against death and for life in more than 50 countries. Be a role model and join in: by purchasing a mask you are helping exactly the people who are desperate for your help.

Get your face mask. Now.

Tags: Corona, Covid-19, Masks with astronomical designs, face masks
Posted in New Products »

MiniTrack with Polar Wedge: Photos made even easier.

May 6 2020, Marcus Schenk

Have you spent months marvelling at the photos of the night sky which your MiniTrack produces? Or have you often caught yourself thinking that you would like to take photos like these?

Today we would like to show you a combination which helps to make everything function even better.

A sample set-up for more professional photos: The Omegon MiniTrack with a camera and polarscope on the new polar wedge.

Picture this: It is dark, you can only just make out the outline of your MiniTrack and are kneeling in front of your tripod in order to line it up. You could say it is a bit of a test of your patience. Finally, you have to align the ball-head with the celestial pole. Ugh. If that doesn’t make you sweat at minus 5 degrees, nothing will.
Is there a simpler way? With more precision? Perhaps like you are accustomed to on big mounts?

A clever idea: now also for the MiniTrack.

Whether you have a MiniTrack LX2, an LX3 or the North and South variant: When combined with the compact Omegon pole height cradle, alignment with the north celestial pole is even more precise. Using adjusting screws for the azimuth and the polar height, you can set the required angle to the precise degree. This means you can work with your MiniTrack as easily as with any large mount. Due to the more precise setting, you can achieve exposures with fewer errors. This is indeed a clever addition which has been long awaited by many people.

How do you assemble your MiniTrack?

It’s simple: the polar wedge attaches to your tripod via a 3/8” thread. An integrated spirit level shows you when you have reached a level setting. Simply secure your MiniTrack using a standard Vixen-style dovetail bar. Your mount is then assembled and subsequently can be stowed away again in seconds, as usual.
Do you have a different manufacturer’s model instead of a MiniTrack? Of course, you can also use a different travel mount on the polar wedge.

Are you also inspired by the idea of creating better shots with the help of your MiniTrack? Then take a look at the Omegon Polar Wedge.

Tags: Omegon, Mount, Astrophotography, Minitrack
Posted in New Products »

It’s finally here! The Unistellar eVscope is now available.

April 24 2020, Elias Erdnüß

The Unistellar eVscope is a computer-assisted Newtonian telescope on an altazimuth GoTo mount.

After years of development, the eagerly-awaited eVscope from Unistellar, a French start-up company, is now finally in stock. Until now it was only available to early supporters of the successful Kickstarter campaign, but now you can also buy it from Astroshop.

The eVscope simplifies the operation and extends the functionality of a classic telescope. It ensures that getting started in the fascinating hobby of astronomy is made as easy as possible.

Thanks to live stacking, the eVscope displays the structures and colours of nebulae and galaxies.

Unlike a classic telescope, the image is not generated directly, but instead is captured by a highly sensitive sensor. The image is then processed by an integrated computer, and projected through an eyepiece to the observer’s eye by means of a high-contrast OLED screen. The telescope can collect light over a long period of time (live stacking) and process the image in such a way that enables the structures and colours of faint nebulae and galaxies to be clearly visible! These details are usually not visible with purely optical telescopes of this size.

With an eVscope, a sensor takes an image of the night sky. This image can be viewed on a smartphone or via a live projection system using a high contrast OLED display.

In addition, the integrated computer makes operating the eVscope very easy: using visible stars the telescope calculates its exact position (plate solving). Then the built-in motors can accurately point to any selected observing target. Unlike conventional GoTo telescopes, you are spared the cumbersome input of GPS coordinates and the time, as well as star alignment which, for beginners, is thoroughly confusing. Simply switch on and get going!

You control the eVscope using a smartphone app. You can find more information here!

Tags: camera, Mount, Astrophotography, Unistellar, eVscope
Posted in New Products »

Gran Turismo GT 81: the high-end telescope from William Optics!

April 9 2020, Stefan Taube

The Gran Turismo 81 refractor is a triplet apochromat with a lens unit with FPL-53 glass from Ohara, Japan. This combination ensures maximum colour purity and high contrast! The GT81 is therefore a versatile refracting telescope which satisfies every requirement!

Apochromat refractor AP 81/478 Gran Turismo GT 81 from William Optics.

Equipped with an optional diagonal mirror, with this apochromat you can observe the Moon and the planets in high contrast. This fast telescope also enables sustained observing of more difficult deep sky objects: star clusters, galaxies and nebulae. Thanks to needle-sharp star images, resolving and observing globular clusters becomes a particular pleasure.

For astrophotography, we recommend the field flattener and focal length reducer (flattener/reducer) Flat6AIII. With this, the telescope delivers a flat field with the same focal position, even for full-frame cameras. The Bahtinov mask integrated into the telescope body helps with precise focusing.

Using the dovetail plate integrated into the frame, you can equip your Gran Turismo with a finder scope or guiding scope.

The very robust and stable GT81-Apo is ideally suited for mobile astronomy and astro-photography. The tube weight of four kilograms is easily accommodated by medium-sized mounts. Take this apo with you to a dark sky and discover the best objects from the Messier and NGC catalogues. The GT81 from William Optics will be, after the Firstlight, your new favourite telescope!

Tags: William Optics, telescope
Posted in New Products »

High-quality canvas prints with astronomical themes

April 8 2020, Stefan Taube

We are offering you high-quality semi-gloss astronomical photographs printed onto canvas. The canvas is stretched onto a pine wood frame, which is equipped with sawtooth brackets, ready for hanging. Every picture is hand-finished and individually checked!

The Andromeda galaxy on canvas

The pictures are all images created by the astrophotographer Boris Štromar. The following images are currently available:

Each image is available in three sizes.

Secure shipping: The pictures are individually shrink-wrapped and supplied with corner protectors.

The astronomical themes and high-quality prints ensure a pleasant ambience.

You can find more information and ordering options here at Astroshop.

Tags: Oklop, media
Posted in New Products »

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 »