TELESCOPES AND ASTRONOMY MAY NEWSLETTER 2002 NO.14 OUR WEB SITE: http://www.telescopes-astronomy.com.au Please let us know if you no not wish to be on our Newsletter mailing list or if you receive this Newsletter by mistake. Welcome to the May Newsletter. There wasn't a Newsletter for March and April. Please call or email for any conversions to other currencies. For US$ the exchange rate is currently 0.535. Multiply Australian Dollars by 0.535. IN THIS ISSUE: - DOWN TIME - NEW VIXEN WEB SITES - ECLIPSE & SOLAR OBSERVING EQUIPMENT - INEXPENSIVE COLLIMATION TOOL - SOME MAJOR POINTS ABOUT TELESCOPES - SECONDARY MIRROR HOLDERS & MIRROR CELLLS - SECONDHAND ITEMS - CURRENT SPECIALS - TELESCOPES - REFLECORS ON EQUATORIAL MOUNTS - REFLECTORS ON DOBSONIAN MOUNTS - REFRACTORS ON EQUATORIAL MOUNTS - TERRESTRIAL REFRACTOR TELESCOPES - TELESCOPE ACCESSORIES - EYEPIECES - CAMERA ADAPTOR - RACK & PINION FOCUSER - BINOCULARS - BINOCULAR, TRIPOD & ADAPTOR - NIGHT VISION - SPOTTING SCOPES - POSTERS - SKYMAP PRO - SUPPLIER WEB SITES - TELESCOPES - BINOCULARS - MICROSCOPES - CAMERAS - POLAREX/UNITRON SCOPES OR PARTS DOWN TIME Our web site was down over Easter for a total of 11 days thanks to Telstra Australia deleting the files and being unable to find them. Doh! NEW VIXEN WEB SITES There are 2 new Vixen web sites with extra information for their range of optics. Vixen manufacture: Telescopes Binoculars Spotting Scopes Microscopes Magnifiers Amphibious Scopes Bore Scopes Compasses http://www.telescopes-astronomy.com.au/vixen103.htm http://www.vixen-global.com/index.html ECLIPSE & SOLAR OBSERVING EQUIPMENT There is a range of observation equipment and visual aids for the Solar Eclipse which can be viewed from Ceduna and Woomera (best spots) in South Australia in December. Items include: - Handheld solar eclipse observation gllasses - Sun diagonal prisms (25.4mm) using Suun Glass - Binocular Sun filters (2x 60-80mm fillters) Solar filters available for Tasco, Celestron, Vixen, and Optex telescopes. These filters may well fit any brand of telescope - let us know the outside diameter of your telescope. Celestron's Mylar filters produce a cool, pale blue colour due to the aluminium coating. A more true colour image can be produced by using the appropriate correction filter #21 or #23A. Mylar Sheeting is available for $20/sq ft. SUN FILTERS #1060 Mylar Sun Filter to suit 60mm Telescopes $65AUS #1062 Mylar Sun Filter to suit 70-90mm Telescopes $92AUS #1061 Mylar Sun Filter to suit 114-120mm Telescopes $99AUS #1059 Mylar Sun Filter to suit 130mm Telescopes $112AUS #1065 Mylar Sun Filter to suit 150-158mm Telescopes $135AUS INEXPENSIVE COLLIMATION TOOL Celestron Part No. 94183 $25AUS http://www.celestron.com/access/general.htm COLLIMATION It's hard to know if the collimation (alignment of the mirrors) of your reflecting telescope is accurate. There are screws or adjustments knobs on the secondary (diagonal) mirror as well as the primary (main) mirror. The way to tell, if the alignment is accurate, is by looking through the eyepiece holder without the eyepiece in it. Firstly, the secondary mirror will be visable with a reflection of your eye in it. Your eye's reflection inside the secondary should be centered, if not it means the secondary mirror is out of alignment. Secondly, the primary mirror's reflection will be visable surrounding the secondary mirror. The secondary mirror and your eye's reflection should be central to the primary mirror's reflection, if not the primary mirror is out of alignment. The alignment of both mirrors affect each other. Its best to adjust the secondary before the primary. There are some points to keep in mind: Why Does It Go Out Of Alignment? - The long journey from the factory cann move or vibrate the mirrors. - Taking the telescope out to a dark siite can move the mirrors. - Bumping the telescope against somethiing can sometimes do it. - The joy of knob turning for children (and some adults) can mysteriously move the alignment. Focal Ratio - The shorter the focal ratio, eg. undeer F/6, the harder collimation is to do accurately. - The shorter the focal ratio the more important it is for it to be accurate. Experience - Attempting to adjust the collimation of your telescope if you haven't done it before can turn into total frustration for many hours. The Main Problem - Looking at the image of the reflectioons through the focuser without the eyepiece isn't that accurate. Moving your head slightly to one side shows a different alignment. How do you know if your head/eye is central looking through the focuser? This is important to align the mirror accurately? Solution - Using a collimation sighting tool curres this problem. The sighting tool is an eyepiece which fits into the telescopes focuser. It has cross hairs so you accurately line up the reflected images. Other Points - If your telescope is too long for youu to adjust the primary mirror while looking at the image through the focuser try and get somone to do the adjusments while you look at the results or visa versa. - One way to see if your adjustment is accurate is to do a "star test". Look at a star with the telescope. Make sure it is not a double or multiple star. Using a high magnification eyepiece, put the focus right out until you can see the same image as you do when looking through the focuser without the eyepiece to do the adjustment. The image should have the secondary central to the primary and the outside border of the primary should be perfectly round. - Adjusting the collimation of your tellescope will put the finderscope out of alignment. - If you take your telescope out to a ddark spot for the best viewing, you would want the telescope to perform to the best of its ability. Checking the collimation before it gets dark could be a bonus. SOME MAJOR POINTS ABOUT TELESCOPES - The larger the telescope - The higherr the magnification, resolution and light gathering power. - You can increase the size of your tellescope simply by using it in a darker location (away from light pollution). - How portable is a larger telescope? - Different eyepieces are used to greatt effect on favourite types of objects. - There are short/fat telescopes, and tthere are long/skinny telescopes. The short/fat telescopes are better for seeing wide objects whereas long/skinny telescopes are better for seeing details on the planets. The short/fat type are better to use a camera on and are more portable. - The ability to find the objects, whicch are good to view, is the biggest reason why people don't use their telescopes as often. Now days there are computer programs which simulates the night sky. This means the user needs only to print out the area of sky, where the object is, and take it outside to their telescope as a reference. The other way of locating objects is using a book. If you live in Australia we suggest Astronomy 2002, otherwise, a book designed for your location makes it easier to find new objects. SECONDARY MIRROR HOLDERS & MIRROR CELLS Please call for fully adjustable primary mirror cells and secondary mirror spiders and holders. CURRENT SPECIALS TELESCOPES REFLECTORS ON EQUATORIAL MOUNT A151 114mm Reflector, F/8, Equatorial Mount, Slo-Mo Controls $439AUS A150 114mm Reflector, F/8, Equatorial Mount, Slo-Mo Controls, Motor Drive $560AUS N150 150mm Reflector, F/5, Equatorial Mount, Slo-Mo Controls $829AUS N200 200mm Reflector, F/4.5, Equatorial Mount, Slo-Mo Controls $1030AUS 45-114675 4.5" (114mm) Tasco Galaxsee Reflector Equatorial Mount Focal Ratio - F/8 (long tube) Finderscope 3 Eyepieces 32mm diameter "SkyWatch" CD ROM $499AUS http://www.tascosales.com/productlist.asp?familylineID=50&producttypeID=4&producttypeNAME=TELESCOPES 11053 NEXSTAR 11 GPS (Completely Computerised Automatic) 279mm (11") Diameter Schmidt-Cassegrain Focal Ratio F/10 Heavy Duty Base with Rubber Feet Hand Control for Go-To Tracking with over 18,000 Object Memory RS-232 Port to Communicate with a PC 12 month warranty $6380AUS 11037 CELESTRON G9.25 235mm (9.25") Diameter Schmidt-Cassegrain Focal Ratio F/10 German Equatorial Mount 6x30mm Finderscope 26mm (90x) Plossl Eyepiece 31.7mm Visual Back 5 Year warranty $3180AUS REFLECTORS ON DOBSONIAN MOUNT D6 150mm Reflector Focal Ratio - F/8 Dobsonian Mount $620AUS D8 200mm Reflector Focal Ratio - F/6 Dobsonian Mount $730AUS Star Watcher SW880 10" (254mm) Reflector Dobsonian Mount $1080AUS SW680 8" (200mm) Reflector Dobsonian Mount Focal Ratio - F/5 8x50mm Finderscope 2 Plossl 32mm diameter Eyepieces (10mm & 20mm) $780AUS REFRACTORS ON EQUATORIAL MOUNTS R90 SES 90mm Portable Refractor Focal Ratio - F/6 Equatorial Mount Slo-Mo Controls Carry Bag Full size Tripod and also Table Tripod $599AUS SW380 4.7" (120mm) Refractor Equatorial Mount Focal Ratio -F/8 2 Plossl 32mm diameter Eyepieces (10mm & 20mm) $990AUS STAR WATCHER 90mm (3.5") Refractor Equatorial Mount $630AUS ST-80400CT "GO TO" 80mm (3.1") Refractor Computer Guided Telescopes $595AUS http://www.tascosales.com/productlist.asp?familylineID=49&producttypeID=4&producttypeNAME=TELESCOPES ST-60400CT "GO TO" 60mm (2.4") Refractor Computer Guided Telescopes $450AUS http://www.tascosales.com/productlist.asp?familylineID=49&producttypeID=4&producttypeNAME=TELESCOPES TERRESTRIAL REFRACTOR TELESCOPES 46-060675 60mm (2.4") Refractor $260AUS http://www.tascosales.com/productlist.asp?familylineID=50&producttypeID=4&producttypeNAME=TELESCOPES 40-060578 Aluminova 60mm (2.4") Refractor Champagne coloured $160AUS http://www.tascosales.com/productlist.asp?familylineID=51&producttypeID=4&producttypeNAME=TELESCOPES ST-60700 60mm (2.4") Refractor Alt-azimuth Mount Focal Ratio - F/12 2 Eyepieces 1.25" diameter (10mm & 20mm) Erecting Eyepiece $210AUS http://www.tascosales.com/productlist.asp?familylineID=49&producttypeID=4&producttypeNAME=TELESCOPES SPOTTING SCOPES OP15-4560 Optex 60mm (2.4") 15x to 45x Zoom Straight Eyepiece No tripod $330AUS OP20-6080 Optex 80mm (3.1") 20x to 60x Zoom $430AUS Straight Eyepiece No tripod $430AUS SW80 80mm (3.1") 20x magnification. Interchangable eyepieces 45 degree eyepieces $560AUS TELESCOPES ACCESSORIES EYEPIECES 9mm Kellner 1.25" $50AUS 25mm Kellner 1.25" $50AUS ADAPTORS Camera Adaptor 1.25" $40AUS RACK AND PINION FOCUSER smooth and economical 1�" rack and pinion focuser for Newtonian telescopes. The focuser glides easily and provides 2" of focus travel. An adapter is included to allow use with .96" eyepieces as well as 1�" eyepieces $78AUS BINOCULARS Standard Binoculars Compact 4x30 Binoculars. These 4x30 binoculars are ideal for indoors or out. Barrels measure 3-1/2" long and each binocular comes with a neck strap, center wheel focus, hinged barrels, lens polishing cloth and comfortable rubber eye cups. The Velcro closure carrying case has a belt loop on the back. $30AUS All these binoculars are high quality. 10840WA World Class 8x40mm $245AUS 10750WA World Class 7x50mm $240AUS 261042 Rare Bird 10x42mm $225AUS 26840 Rare Bird 8x40mm $218AUS BINOCULAR, TRIPOD & ADAPTOR 2023 10x50mm Large binoculars for locating objects first before using your telescope T560 Tripod 3 way pan head, 170cm high Binocular to Tripod adaptor $180AUS NIGHT VISION $650AUS Think only cats and owls can see in the dark? With the Night Vision Monocular. At only 6-3/4" it is lightweight and easy to carry. 2x magnification with powerful integrated illuminator. Range is 1m to infinity. Ergonomically designed to fit snugly in the palm of the hand. Carrying case is smaller than a standard travel shaving kit. Rubber eye cup. Uses 2AA batteries. Always protect scope from direct sunlight to prevent damage POSTERS The majority of posters are on special for May $10. SUPPLIER WEB SITES The best way to view our products is to go straight to the source. Here are some of our manufacturer's and suppliers web sites: TELESCOPES Vixen Telescopes, Binoculars, Microscopes, Magnifiers www.vixen-global.com/index.html http://www.telescopes-astronomy.com.au/vixen103.htm Tasco Telescopes, Spotting Scopes, Binoculars, Microscopes http://www.tascosales.com/ Optex Telescopes http://www.tasco.com.au/telescopes-catalogue.htm Siebert Optical Eyepieces http://www.siebertoptics.bizland.com/ Celestron Telescopes www.celestron.com SkyMap Software http://www.skymap.com/ Brass Telescopes http://www.aditron.com/ JMI Telescopes and Modified Accessories http://www.jimsmobile.com/ Kendrick Telescope Accessories http://www.kendrick-ai.com/dewremover.html Quasar Publishing Books and Planispheres http://www.quasarastronomy.com.au/default.htm Redfern Optical Electronics http://www.redfernintegrated.com.au/ StarLab Planetariums and Sunspotter Projector http://melbourne.citysearch.com.au/E/V/MELBO/0080/59/14/ Anssen Technologies Mounting Systems http://www.triode.net.au/~anssen/ Astrovisuals Books and Posters http://members.ozemail.com.au/~astrovis/ AstroSystems Large Dobsonian Telescope Kits http://www.astrosystems.biz/ BINOCULARS Vixen Telescopes, Binoculars, Microscopes, Magnifiers www.vixen-global.com/index.html Tasco Telescopes, Spotting Scopes, Binoculars, Microscopes http://www.tascosales.com/ MICROSCOPES Vixen Telescopes, Binoculars, Microscopes, Magnifiers www.vixen-global.com/index.html Tasco Telescopes, Spotting Scopes, Binoculars, Microscopes http://www.tascosales.com/ Olympus Microscopes www.olympusamerica.com/innards/i_microscopes.asp?s=13&p=18 Nova Instruments Microscopes www.novainstruments.com/index.php Carton Microscopes and Optics http://www.carton-opt.co.jp/english.html Labovision Microscopes www.labovision.com CAMERAS Yashica Cameras http://www.yashica.com/site.html POLAREX/UNITRON SCOPES OR PARTS We have collector who is keen on Polarex or Unitron scopes, parts and accessories. Let us know if you have any you wish to sell. That's probably enough for now. :-) PH 61+ 8 8381 3188 FAX 61+ 8 8381 3188 [email protected]
