Equipment

The Northeast Astronomy Forum and Space Expo (NEAF) was held as usual this month at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York. This forum features exhibits from gear suppliers for amateur astronomers from around the world and offers stargazers a chance to see the latest tools and mingle in a convivial atmosphere just as spring and warmer weather arrives. Many would like to go, but not everyone can manage the trip. But Luca Bartek (Space Koala) produced two excellent videos in which she tours the exhibition and talks to astro-vendors about their latest offering. Both of her videos below capture the highlights of Day 1 and Day 2 of the show…
[Read more…] about NEAF 2026 Overview and Recap

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In a previous video, Ed Ting discussed what refractor he would have if he could have only one refractor. In this follow-up, he turns to a discussion of reflectors. These telescopes, of course, have more varied designs than refractors and offer the potential for far more aperture which enables brighter images and higher resolution. What does Ed choose? Well, it’s a bit of a head scratcher and one you can’t buy anymore. But his reasoning is well worth following in this enjoyable video.

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While big-aperture reflectors have their place for visual observing and astro-imaging, it’s hard to beat the view through a good apochromatic or ED refractor. The pinpoint stars, the superb contrast, and relative ease of use make this scopes extremely popular among amateur astronomers.

But what is the best refractor? Or to put it a different way, if you could choose only one refractor, which would it be? For me, it’s my Tele Vue 85mm – what the late Al Nagler called the ‘goldilocks’ telescope because it’s just right for nearly everything. In the video above, Ed Ting takes a personal view of which refractor he would choose if he could have only one (hint – it’s made in Japan).

 

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Nico Carver visits the ZWO factory and offices in Suzhou, China and speaks with founder Sam Wen about the development of some of ZWO’s most innovative products. This short video offers a insightful glimpse into the process of conception, design, and development of successful new products – an art in itself. And it gives us a peek over the horizon of the direction of how compact, ‘smart’ imaging telescopes will influence the future of amateur astronomy. In my view, Sam Wen and his team have done more to get people involved with hands-on astronomy than anyone in the past two or three decades. They have done super work.

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Sometime in 1955, Mr. David Coffeen of New Orleans, Louisiana came up with $75. In today’s currency, that’s about $700, a respectable sum. And what did Mr. Coffeen do with his hard-earned savings?

He purchased a telescope.

Which telescope? A Unitron altazimuth refractor with an aperture of just 40mm, less than that of most finder scopes today. It came with three eyepieces, a star diagonal, and a wooden storage case, because it was an honest astronomical instrument.

Mr. Coffeen used his telescope from atop his modest trailer home. There was a lot to see with that 40mm scope: loads of lunar detail, the rings of Saturn, the Galilean moons of Jupiter and a couple of belts, hundreds of double stars, many of the Messier objects, and a lot more [Read more…] about An Ode to Small Telescopes

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