Equipment – Page 8 – Astronomy Now

Alan Gee Telecompressor Mk II

12 July 2015 Steve Ringwood

If you own a long focal ratio Ritchey–Chrétien or Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and hanker after wider fields of view for both visual use and astrophotography, then Baader Planetarium’s new telecompressor could be just what you need. Steve Ringwood investigates.

Orion edge-on planetary eyepieces

23 June 2015 Steve Ringwood

Steve Ringwood takes a look through a range of 1.25-inch seven-element eyepieces of a design optimised for high contrast, flat-field performance on the planets and likes what he sees.

Sky-Watcher Stargate-450P Dobsonian

7 June 2015 Steve Ringwood

Steve Ringwood appraises a veritable light bucket in the form of Sky-Watcher’s Stargate-450P — an 18-inch f/4.1, all metal truss tube Dobsonian designed to be easily transported and assembled ready for use in less than 20 minutes.

Celestron NexImage Burst Colour camera

25 May 2015 Steve Ringwood

Looking for a high-resolution, high-speed camera for imaging Saturn at opposition with your telescope? Steve Ringwood appraises the one-shot colour Celestron NexImage Burst, capable of capturing 120 frames/second — and it comes with image-processing software too!

Orion StarBlast 62mm compact travel refractor

20 May 2015 Steve Ringwood

Now that many of us are turning our thoughts to holidays, possibly to darker skies in foreign climes, Steve Ringwood appraises a versatile 62mm aperture, 4-element refractor that could fit in our carry-on luggage.

3× four-element Barlow lens

12 May 2015 Steve Ringwood

Steve Ringwood investigates a 4-element, 3x Barlow lens that’s designed to provide efficient field correction and apochromatic performance that can match other highly specified optics in the light path.

Orion SkyQuest XX12g Dobsonian

28 April 2015 Steve Ringwood

If you fancy drinking up views of the universe from a light-bucket, Orion’s SkyQuest XX12g GOTO Dobsonian will leave you drunk on celestial wonders, writes Steve Ringwood.

Sky-Watcher Star Discovery 150P Newtonian

22 April 2015 Steve Ringwood

Steve Ringwood appraises Sky-Watcher’s computerised yet easy-to-use starter ‘scope that features FreedomFind™ dual-encoder technology, allowing you to move the instrument manually or electronically without losing alignment.

Vixen Optics VSD 100/f3.8 ultra-fast astrograph

4 April 2015 Steve Ringwood

Astrophotographers seeking an ultra-fast refractor designed for exquisite digital Imaging may wish to consider this 100mm aperture, 5-element f/3.8 system from Vixen, appraised by Steve Ringwood.

The iOptron iEQ45 mount revisited

31 March 2015 Astronomy Now

Ninian Boyle tests the updated version of iOptron’s classic iEQ45 mount and finds portability and versatility in a single package.