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New mount from Skywatcher: EQM-35 Pro SynScan GoTo

May 16 2018, Stefan Taube

Many amateur astronomers started their hobby with the EQ-3 by Skywatcher. There’s one reason: The mount is excellent value for money and easy to transport. It can be used as an equatorial mount with motorised tracking for astrophotography and offers the functionality of larger mounts with its SynScan control.

Skywatcher has developed the EQ-3 mount further. We would like present to you the new EQM-35 Pro SynScan GoTo!

 

Die neue Montierung von Skywatcher: EQM-35 Pro

Combine the EQM-35 Pro with a 6-inch telescope. The much-loved Newton optics N 150/750 is very suitable. You will receive this telescope with an improved eyepiece holder: N 150/750 PDS Explorer BD. It has a gear reduction that is useful for astrophotography. If you are interested mainly in photography, the new apochromatic refractor EvoStar 72 ED would be a great choice!

The special highlight of the EQM-35 Pro is the removal declination axis. This way you can use it as a photo mount , with a camera and lens taking the place of the telescope. The EQM-35 Pro then tracks the sky’s rotation, allowing long-exposure shots of larger constellations.

Die EQM-35 als Fotomontierung

With the new EQM-35 Pro, you’ll be getting a versatile and very light mount on a sturdy steel tube tripod. A very good choice for taking up astronomy as a hobby without breaking the bank and a good travel mount for experienced astrophotographers.

Solarquest, the new mount by Skywatcher for observing the sun

April 19 2018, Marcus Schenk

Adjusting your telescope while observing the sun is not as easy as you might at first think. The telescope should, of course, already be oriented towards the sun using a sun filter before setting up. When attempting to orient the telescope towards the sun, you can quickly become careless and peer without eye protection through the telescope at the blazing sun. Help is at hand here with the solar finder or the new Solarquest mount by Skywatcher.

Skywatcher Solarquest

The Solarquest mount has GPS, an automatic level and an electronic solar finder, Heliofind®. You only have to fit the mount. After a short initialisation, the mount moves by itself to the sun. But, of course, the  Solarquest can do more than that: The mount guides the telescope as the sun moves across the sky, so that it is always in line with the eyepiece or camera sensor. This precise tracking can also be done via the built-in Heliofind® finder.

Skywatcher Heliofind

Of course, you can also correct the orientation of the mount by hand, for example, if you are working with greater magnification, and would like to move to a specific place on the solar disc. To do this, there is a slider button on the mount so you can guide the movement yourself.

Solarquest

The azimuthal single arm mount, Solarquest, can hold small optics weighing up to four kilos, making it especially light and quiet. The Solarquest, in combination with a small sun telescope, forms an easy-to-transport system that is quick to set up – that is both particularly comfortable on your balcony at home and ideal for travel or for training purposes.

Skywatcher Vixen

You can also place a small refractor on the Solarquest and fit a sun filter  to it. In combination with a QUARK by DayStar, it is even possible to observe in H-alpha or Calcium-H light. You can even use it for night astronomy without a sun filter using the Solarquest mount. The Solarquest mount becomes a part of your versatile system for night observation.

New Skywatcher Apochromatic Refractor: EvoStar ED 72 DS Pro

March 29 2018, Stefan Taube

The telescopic lens tubes in the EvoStar series by Skywatcher have been greatly appreciated telescopes for years for both beginners and advanced users.

With the EvoStar 72, the Skywatcher now offers a dual-lens ED apochromatic refractor at a good price: You can purchase the EvoStar 72 ED DS Pro OTA for just €349.00!

EvoStar 72
The very decently priced EvoStar 72, thanks to its short design, is the ideal instrument for travel, but more than that, it’s great for constellation astrophotography. You only need a small parallactic mount with a load capacity of 5 kg.

The apochromatic refractor has a double lens made from particularly tough ED glass. High-quality glass by Schott is used for the crown glass element. Every glass-air surface of this optical item is fitted with a metallic anti-reflective coat to achieve high maximum light transmission of 99.5 %! The optical construction of this apochromatic refractor considerably reduces chromatic aberrations and creates a much sharper image!

The apochromatic refractor comes with a carry case and a sensitive eyepiece holder with 1:11 reduction. For visual observation, you will also need a zenith mirror and eyepieces. You can find these in the “Recommended accessories” section for EvoStar 72.

We will be pleased to advise you personally!

“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.

New: Improvement to the Orion-Dobsons and the Skywatcher EQ-5, new QHY camera and apos by William Optics!

October 27 2017, Stefan Taube

We would like to present to you a small selection of items that we included in the range recently:

1.Orion Dobson telescope N 254/1200 SkyQuest XT10 PLUSOrion XT10 PLUS

Dobson telescopes with 10-inch aperture by Orion are, of course, nothing new. Orion now offers its 10-inch in an improved PLUS version.

New features:

  • Friction brake for the height axis. This enables the use of heavy eyepieces.
  • Filters for observing the sun in safety.
  • Crayford focuser with reduction for fine focusing.
  • 2″ wide-angle eyepiece and Barlow lens
  • Eyepiece tray

With the XT10 PLUS you will receive an easy-to-use telescope with small improvements for even better performance and more fun during your observation sessions!

There is also an 8-inch Dobson by Orion in this improved version: XT8 PLUS.

 

2. Skywatcher mount AZ-EQ-5-GT SynScan GoTo

The AZ-EQ-5 mount by Skywatcher is actually not new. You will receive this mount immediately with a classic tripod as you known it with other mounts. Until now, Skywatcher delivered the mount with a column where the tripod legs didn’t fit right under the mount. This tripod was very compact for carrying, but not as sturdy as the classic tripod.

The AZ-EQ-5 mount is a real all-purpose mount that can take up to 15 kg: It is very light to carry and can be operated in either equatorial or azimuthal position, so for either astrophotography or for simple observation.

The mount is, thanks to the toothed belt drive, relatively light and fitted with the latest version of the SynScan computer control system.

 

3. William Optics apochromatic refractor AP 61/360 ZenithStar 61

Are there any astrophotographers who don’t dream of an apo by William Optics? With the ZenithStar series you will receive a lens telescope in William-Optics quality at a fair price!

The small optics with an aperture ratio of f/5.9 weigh less than 1.5 kg and can be combined with a photo mount. You will receive a light, compact system for travel with which you will achieve amazing wide-angle shots of nebula regions of the Milky way – all that’s missing is the suitable flattener and a DSLR camera.

 

4. ALccd-QHY camera 9c Colour

Alccd-QHY-9c

We are constantly extending our range of cameras by ALccd-QHY. We have recently added the the 9c Colour camera. It has a Kodak KAF-8300 sensor: 8.9 megapixels with a 22.5 mm diagonal and 5.4 µm pixels.

The most important information;

  • The chip is fitted with microlenses.
  • The active cooling with a larger fan cools down the camera to 50 °C under the ambient temperature.
  • The 32 MB SDRAM buffer ensures a quiet transfer of the images.

This camera meets the high requirements of advanced astrophotographers.

Photos taken of the sun in H-Alpha light with the filter QUARK and the new ToupTek camera.

October 13 2017, Stefan Taube

Our Spanish Colleague Carlos Malagon has a clear view of our day star almost every day. He sent us this image of the sun he had taken with the new camera EP3CMOS02300KMC from ToupTek:

H-Alpha-Sonne

The image shows the chromosphere of the sun: This is a part of the sun’s atmosphere above the photosphere, appearing in light with a wavelength of 656 nanometres. This wavelength is also referred to as H-Alpha. It represents a certain excitement condition of the hydrogen atoms in the sun’s atmosphere. At the edge of the sun you see a very nice protuberance.

Besides the camera from ToupTek Carlos Malagon used the H-Alpha filter QUARK from DayStar and the Omegon Pro Apo 80/500 on the mount SkyWatcher Star Adventurer.

This small mount is ideal for travelling. It carries a camera with small optics and tracks it parallel to the rotation of the sky. The Star Adventurer can be screwed on any photo tripod. For this purpose, Carlos Malagon used the Omegon aluminium tripod Titania 500. The photo below shows the complete equipment.

Carlos_Ausrüstung

By the way: Since the sun filter QUARK can simply be inserted into the eyepiece holder between camera and telescope, it can also be quickly removed. The easy to handle equipment can then be simply used to take photos of the night sky.

Skywatcher AZ-5: The new azimuthal mount for small optics

September 29 2017, Stefan Taube

A small all-around mount for nature observations and star gazing. It does not always have to be the biggest telescope, many times you just want to have a glance at the Moon, planets or the Milky Way. For this purpose, the new mount AZ-5 Deluxe from Skywatcher is just ideal!

Skywatcher Montierung AZ-5 Deluxe mit Stativ

This mount is able to carry optics of up to five kilogrammes, whereby the standardised prism rail connection also accepts telescopes from manufacturers other than Skywatcher. With an optionally available L-holder one can also connect binoculars or a spotting scope with a camera screw.

The AZ-5 Deluxe is equipped with a friction clutch for quick adjustment of the desired object: Simply apply slight pressure to the tube to move the optics to the right direction. Sensitive fine tuning and tracking is then accomplished via two flexible shafts. The mount and optics rest on a sturdy aluminium tripod.

The mount can also be used for nature observations. The fork arm can be adjusted in various positions, so that looking down into a valley is also possible.

Skywatcher also offers the AZ-5 Deluxe in a set with different optics. We would like to briefly introduce these sets:

Explorer_130

The Explorer-130PS AZ-5 is a Newton telescope. Telescopes of this design offer the largest aperture for your money. They gather more light from faint star clusters and galaxies than other telescopes of the same price range.

This telescope in combination with the mount is well suited for beginners who would just like to watch, but not take any photos, and who are looking for a simple instrument for occasional observing sessions on the balcony.

Startravel-102

The name Startravel-102 AZ-5 stands for an achromatic refractor. This optical system is slightly more expensive than the Newton, but has some advantages. The refractor provides sharper images, because it has no secondary mirror in the optical path.

Even experienced stargazers may have lots of fun with this instrument, because it is very quickly set up for use and then enables the observation of large sky fields (“Rich field”) and comets. Equipped with a 45°-Amici-Prism, it is well suited for nature observations.

Skymax-127

The Maksutov Skymax-127 AZ-5 has been a very popular instrument for many years. With its large focal length, it brings the Moon, planets or other objects very close, even on a bright day, with sharp contours.

In combination with a motorised mount, this telescope’s optics are highly suitable for photographic purposes. Looking at it this way, the set Skymax-127 AZ-5 is an investment in the future or a supplement, if you already have an astronomical mount, but would additionally like to have a light AZ-mount and Maksutov optics.

 

 

Now available: the EQ6-R mount from Skywatcher!

February 20 2017, Stefan Taube

The new EQ6-R Pro SynScan GoTo mount from Skywatcher is now available for ordering. With its price of EUR 1,599 it is just slightly more expensive than its predecessor. We offer you the EQ6-R even cheaper than the price recommended by the manufacturer: You save EUR 100!

The EQ6-R mount is the further development of one of the most popular astronomical mounts. The classic EQ-6is an equatorial mount with computer control (GoTo). It has a high load capacity, but is still portable. And this all for a fair price. No wonder that the EQ6 has really found its way into the heart of the stargazer community.

“Only those who change remain true to themselves.” (Wolf Biermann)

The new EQ6-R does not do everything differently, but many things better:EQ6-R-Pro-SynScan-GoTo

  • Ergonomic design with bigger twist handles for polar elevation setting and a better polar elevation display, convenient handle for transport, mounting saddle for Vixen or Losmandy standard prism rails.
  • Latest version of the SynScan hand controller, permanent PEC correction and camera shutter control.
  • And best of it all: a toothed belt drive! With this new drive system there is no effect known as backlash, i.e. no gear play when changing direction. The mount runs much quieter, with higher torque. All this has a positive effect on autoguiding.

With this new version Skywatcher gives its classic mount a facelift. This way the new EQ6-R will be a standard in hobby astronomy for years to come: the EQ6 just keeps on running…

Now available for a special price: Skywatcher 120mm EvoStar on EQ-3 mount

February 13 2017, Stefan Taube

For years this has been one of the most popular beginners telescopes: the AC 120/1000 EvoStar EQ-3 from Skywatcher. As of today, you can buy this telescope for a price of only EUR 489 instead of the previous EUR 599. You save EUR 110!

A tried-and-tested beginners telescope:

One reason for the popularity of this telescope surely is its classic form. This slim refracting telescope with a focal length of 1000 mm perfectly meets the idea you might have of a telescope. But it does not only look elegant; its power or capacity is also something worth mentioning. With its aperture of 120 mm this achromatic refractor already is one of the bigger telescopes of this design variant. With an aperture ratio of f/8.3 the colour errors have been corrected quite well. As a refractor it offers a particularly high contrast, which has a positive effect when looking at planets. Moreover, with the aperture of 120 mm numerous DeepSky objects, like the Ring Nebula and the far away Globular Cluster M13, are also visible.

EvoStarA solid base that can be retrofitted with motors:

The mount is a further development of the EQ-3. It provides a solid base for medium size optics and is most suitable for taking a stroll across the night sky.

If the equatorial mount is aligned with the North Star before starting a stargazing session, all that is left to do is to track one single axis – the right ascension axis, also referred to as hour axis – to keep the celestial object visible within the eyepiece. On telescopes with basic equipment this tracking is done by hand. However, you can, at any time, retrofit a battery-powered motor for the right ascension axis. RA drive motor for EQ-3-2 mounts.

If you would like to have both axes of the mount motorised, you should choose the EQ-3-2 motor set RA and DEC.

With such a motorised tracking system you can use this telescope to get started with astrophotography. The new EQ-3-2 motor set RA and DEC with ST4 even allows you to connect an autoguider – an advanced piece of technology in astrophotography.

The extremely robust and well-established telescope AC 120/1000 EvoStar EQ-3 can also be adapted to meet your requirements – and this even at a later date, after you have become familiar with the basics.

The portable telescope comes with complete basic equipment, which allows you to start immediately. The equipment includes 2 eyepieces and a relatively big finder scope with an aperture of 50 mm. Just unpack it, take it outside into your garden and start!

This offer remains valid as long as stock lasts – buy now!

 

Skywatcher Sky Panorama Eyepieces: More economical in a set!

January 9 2017, Stefan Taube

With immediate effect the popular ultra wide angle eyepieces of the Sky Panorama series are available in an economical set:

Skywatcher Eyepiece Set Sky Panorama with focal length of 7 mm, 15 mm, 23 mm.

You save 69.90 Euro when compared with the purchase of the individual eyepieces.
The three focal lengths fully cover the sensible range needed for observations with Dobson telescopes.

The Sky Panorama ultra-wide angle eyepieces offer a large field of view of 82° – a unique viewing experience across a very flat, well corrected and almost undistorted field. The eyepieces come with soft eyepiece caps, which can be simply rotated for correct positioning. Convenient viewing and also suitable for persons wearing glasses. For high contrast and maximum light transmission the lens areas have been broad spectrum multi tempered. The thread cut into the plug-in sleeve enables the use of filters.

Sky Panorama