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UNIVERSALLYSUPERIOR IMAGE THE UNIVERSE IN HIGH DEFINITION Completely reengineered from the ground up, Celestron’s new Advanced VX series allows anyone to explore astroimaging with a sophisticated-yet-affordable new standard in mid-level telescopes. With Periodic Error Correction, an autoguiding port, and improved motors, navigation and tracking is smoother than ever. And when paired with Celestron’s new Nightscape 8300 one-shot color KAF-8300 CCD camera, the sky is literally the limit when it comes to capturing breathtaking photos of planets, deep-sky objects, and more. ADVANCED VX: + Integer gear ratios and permanently programmable Periodic Error Correction eliminates residual tracking error + Allows viewing or imaging across the meridian without interference from the motor’s housing + New motors offer improved tracking performance and more power to overcome load imbalances Nightscape 8300 + Most affordable, feature-rich KAF-8300 camera readily available + 22.5mm diagonal CCD chip with 8.3MP of resolution + Innovative heat-sink and air-fl ow system for effi cient cooling in Fastar-friendly body Learn more about our Advanced VX mount and available optical tubes by scanning the QR code with your smart phone or visit www.celestron.com/advancedvx CELESTRON PREMIER SELECT DEALERS OPT Telescopes – 800.483.6287 – www.opttelescopes.com B&H Photo – 800.947.9970 – www.bhphotovideo.com Hands On Optics – 866.726.7371 – www.handsonoptics.com Astronomics – 800.422.7876 – www.astronomics.com Adorama – 800.223.2500 – www.adorama.com High Point Scientifi c – 800.266.9590 – www.highpointscientifi c.com Optics Planet – 800.504.5897 – www.opticsplanet.com Telescopes.com – 888.988.9876 – www.telescopes.com Focus Camera – 800.221.0828 – www.focuscamera.com Woodland Hills – 888.427.8766 – www.telescopes.net
THE LITTLE MOUNT THAT COULD Image 1 - The iOptron iEQ30 carrying an Explore Scientific AR152 f/6.5 achro refractor. The iOptron iEQ30 By Mark Zaslove I am a born-again astro-newbie. Back when I was a kid (after the wellused Tasco refractor), I had a 6-inch Newt from the legendary Optical Craftsman Company. Great optics, but the mount, solid like a Russian tank, had only a “clock drive” in RA and setting circles that were about as accurate as wetting your finger and holding it up to see which way the wind blew. Then …decades went by. The CCD revolution erupted, and all those wonderful images done by the professional astronomers back then were suddenly within the capability of amateurs now. Hooray for Hollywood! I bided my time, studied up, read like crazy and finally set achievable goals for getting back into the nighttime fray. Because the learning curve would be steep, my time limited, and who knew if I would take to it or not, one of my parameters was bang-for-buck. Too cheap, and the travails of getting a good picture would be so ugly I’d quit in frustration; too expensive just for expensive’s sake, and if I didn’t “take” to the hobby again, I’d be out big bucks. Basically, I wanted really good midrange items that shined at what they did. If I were a boxing manager, I’d be looking for a solid welter weight with a punch. After much research, I narrowed it down between the Celestron CGEM and the Orion Atlas, with the far-end hope of finding a used Tak, maybe. But then iOptron came out with the iEQ30. Light but “wiry,” perfect for the wide-field astrophotography (AP) I wanted to do (under 20 pounds of gear), but still with sophistication and good finish. Or, at least that was the theory … they weren’t out yet. I ordered one of the first ones, along with the very first pier that came out (I had a pier when I was a kid; no tripods for this boy; tripods are for wusses). After a very fast slow boat from China, it arrived (the pier came a few days later). Let me digress for a moment and build the, as Popeye says, “suspensk.” My AP rig was going to be built around – after much research again – the brand <strong>Astronomy</strong> TECHNOLOGY TODAY 29
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