SKYWATCHER AUSTRALIA
Ivan Hancock seems pretty happy with the guided tracking he's getting with his Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount and posted his pic of the Tarantula Nebula ( 30 Doradus ) to the Sky-Watcher Australia Facebook Group.
The Tarantula Nebula is an emission nebula located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) some 160,000 light years away. It's so bright and luminous that if it were the same distance as the Orion Nebula (M 42), it would cast shadows at night!
To capture this image from the heavily light polluted skies of Hampton Park just outside of Melbourne, Ivan used a Canon 700D in mono mode and an RC6 Astrograph telescope riding on his Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount. Exposure was 20 x 3 minute. 20 darks 20 bias, 20 flats. PHD2 guiding. This was first light on the new telescope too.
Thanks for the image Ivan!
#skywatcheraustralia #telescope #ASTRO #astronomy #tarantulanebula #astrophotography #eq6r #nebula #LMC #southernsky #deepspace #galaxy #canondslr #canon700d #phd2 @canonaustralia
Great to see some of the kids from Currambine Primary School enjoying some stargazing organised by Perth Observatory. @perthobservatory
The Dobs are a perfect telescope for serious budding astronomers.
It looks like you got to see the Venus and Jupiter conjunction too!
#stargazing #ASTRO #skywatcheraustralia #skywatchertelescope #dobsonian #astronight #observing #astronomy #jupiter #Venus #dobsonian #universe #STEM @ Currambine, Western Australia
We're kicking off our celebration of 20 years of Sky-Watcher by remembering the 50th Anniversary of the landing of Apollo 12 and chat about what's a good telescope for a beginner to view the Moon.
This was the second Apollo mission to land on the Lunar surface. Apart from a near disaster due to a lightning strike during launch that was solved by some quick thinking by ground crew, the Apollo 12 was a triumphant return to the Moon without the weight of being the "first" that fell on the previous Apollo 11 mission. Sure plenty of you can comment with more details and anecdotes about the mission.
It's also a good time to answer one of the most common questions we get - with Christmas coming up, what's the best telescope for beginners to look at the Moon and planets? One that provides bright, clear views with a solid mount but at the same time won't break the bank.
A very popular choice that ticks all the boxes is the Sky-Watcher 150mm (6") Dobsonian. The RRP is $499. This is one of our best selling Sky-Watcher telescopes and for lots of good reasons.
It's very easy to setup and use and will provide years of faithful service. In fact it's covered by a full 5 year warranty. It includes everything you'll need to get observing. The Dobsonian mount is outstandingly simple yet rock solid at the same time. "Dobs" as telescope like these are affectionately called by astronomers offer the "best bang for your buck" for visual use.
It's the biggest and most powerful telescope you can buy at this price.
If you've never looked at the Moon through a telescope before, you'll never forget your first view of it through a Sky-Watcher 150mm Dob. It's powerful enough to see details on planets Jupiter and Mars and the rings of Saturn as well as thousands of deepsky objects such as nebulae and clusters.
While the 150mm Dob is solidly built, many parents find their 10 or 12 year budding astronomer is perfectly able to move the telescope around without any problems.
We include two eyepieces to give you 48x and 120x magnification and the bundled 2" eyepiece adaptor widens your choice of add on eyepieces. While strictly not designed for astrophotography, you'll be able to get some great photos of the Moon using this telescope and one our smartphone holders that attach your phone to the telescope eyepiece.
Noticed the two bright "stars" in the western sky after sunset at the moment? Keep an eye on the planets Venus and Jupiter over the next few days!Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love is making her way to visit Zeus, the King of the Gods.
Watch them.
Venus and Jupiter.
Western evening sky.
5 days until they get close enough to blow a kiss to each other.