News

Do thousands of satellites bother astronomers? Wait until the sky is full of massive orbiting mirrors! Sunshine is good, right? Who doesn't like sunlight! A US company, Reflect Orbital, has decided the Earth simply doesn't have enough of it and has a fairly radical solution: it's going to place in orbit a fleet of 18 x 18m highly reflective mirrors that can be positioned to reflect sunlight to areas on the Earth's surface that are underdoing periods of "sunlight deficiency." In other words, night time.  These will be used to power solar panels arrays, provide extra light for growing crops around the clock and even illuminate emergency and disaster areas. The first of these has received clearance to launch this year on the Eärendil-1 satellite, carrying an 18m x 18m mirror, with fleet of...wait for it...50,000 in place by 2035. Some of the proposed satellites in orbit. Illustration via Reflect Orbital I think it would be a fair to say that this might impact astronomers and astrophotographers and possibly even dwarf the impact of light pollution in many areas.  These satellites need to be repositioned every few minutes when operating and with chances of "flashes" while this is happening landing in the eyes of drivers or pilots, disorienting animals or straight down a telescope tube.  Interestingly this was approved by the American FCC (Federal Communications Commission) who regulate satellite and radio transmission. As these satellites "transmit" on the visual spectrum and not on radio frequency, they decided that they have no authority to regulate the project. (Read more about that here if you're having a slow afternoon and have got nothing better to do....) The space above our heads is becoming increasingly crowded. Apart from the thousands of existing satellites which are already impacting astronomy, there are plans for strange and weird programs like artificial meteor showers, space hotels, space burials and more.  In fact, the American FCC has a new document called "Spectrum Abundance for Weird Space Stuff" (seriously, that's what it's called!) and you can read it on their government website here. I'd be out there enjoying the dark skies while you can. A companion found for Betelgeuse  One of the brightest stars in the sky is the ruby red "shoulder" in the constellation of Orion. It's not visible all night sky during our Australian winter, but as the months roll on, it will be shining brightly in the summer months. It's one of the best known stars in the night sky and it's also known to vary in brightness over long, semi-regular periods  The exact reason for the variation in Betelgeuse is still unknown and it's thought be to caused by dust clouds, the star contracting as it prepares to go supernova or even an unseen companion star passing in front it.  Announced this week is the discovery of the long proposed companion for Betelgeuse. A team lead by an astronomer from Paris Observatory spotted this hidden star in images taken by the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT). One of the problems with observing faint companion stars like this is the glare from the brightness of the main star. Betelgeuse is hundreds of thousands of times brighter than the newly discovered star orbiting it.  The image was obtained using SPHERE, the high-contrast imaging instrument installed on ESO’s VLT in Chile.  VLT images of Betelgeuse and its companion (Image via: ESO/M. Montargès et al. Background: N. Rissinge)   "This is the conclusion of a century-long quest." says Miguel Montargès, deputy astronomer at Paris Observatory PSL and lead author of the study. "We have shown that Betelgeuse is not single, it is accompanied by a faint stellar companion.'" As often with these sorts of discoveries, this not something you'll be able to observe or image with your telescope.  Read more here.  The largest galaxy ever observed is even bigger than we thought Astronomers have considered a galaxy called IC 1101 to the largest ever measured. It belongs to a class called brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), which form through the mergers of multiple smaller galaxies and are likely to be still growing. One of the problems working out just how large they are is the difficulty in finding out where their outer edges actually are. In other words, where does the galaxy end and where does intergalactic space start. Astronomers using Wide Field Camera (WFC) at the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) in the Canary Islands have extended the size of IC 1101 to 1.7 million light-years (520 kiloparsecs) from the previous estimate of 370,000 light-years (114 kiloparsecs). It's a major upgrade which puts IC 1101 even further ahead of other galaxies.  IC 1101 is about 17 times the size of our own Milky Way and containing an estimated 3.4 trillion solar masses in stars, around 55 times the stellar mass of the Milky Way Unlike many cutting-edge astronomy discoveries, IC 1101 is within the reach of amateur telescopes. Located in Virgo, Its magnitude is about 13.2 and 14.7 depending on filters used. You'll need something in the range of 200mm (8") aperture or more but if you spot it, you can gaze at a faint smudge knowing is the largest galaxy ever found, and still growing.  Moon Phases for August 2026 Full Moon from Sydney on Thursday 30th July around 7.00pm. Taken with a DWARF mini. We get asked for local Moon phases as online and AI results can sometimes show them in US or European times.  For August 2026 they are:     Phase Date Time (AEST) Last Quarter 6 Aug 2026 12:21 pm New Moon 13 Aug 2026 3:36 am First Quarter 20 Aug 2026 12:46 pm Full Moon 28 Aug 2026 2:18 pm All times AEST (UTC+10), Sydney. Lucky 13 for SpaceX's Starship No big kaboom for the latest flight of the big rocket.  Last weekend saw the 13th flight of the largest rocket ever built, the Starship by SpaceX. Flight 13 lifted off from Starbase on Saturday morning our time, after a scrubbed attempt on 16th July when four engines failed to ignite, and a weather scrub on the 23th of July. It was the second flight of the V3 vehicles and the first Starship flight to deploy next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. The booster relit only 10 of 13 engines on descent, with five failing seconds later, resulting in a harder splashdown.  A nice planetary alignment for early risers If you like getting up pre-dawn (or maybe winding up from a big night before) there's some lovely planetary alignments in the pre-dawn skies in August. Here's the view low on the horizon from the north and northeastern skies on around 5.30am on the 9th of August 2026 as seen from Sydney. Speaking of Betelgeuse, you will see Mars and the Moon just below the red giant star, along with Saturn higher in the sky.  This image is produced with Stellarium which is popular here at BINTEL! Cheers, Earl White BINTEL  1st August 2026

It's been a little while since we did a full head-to-head smart telescope comparison and with recent announcements, it's a good time to again go over what's in the market and offer a bit of advice about the best model for you.  What's a Smart Telescope? We generally define a Smart Telescope as an all-in-one portable telescope that includes a mount, camera, telescope itself in a single unit. Most include internal filters, and many come with an external solar filter. Using all this built-in tech, they are able to automatically position themselves to observe the night sky.  You take them outside, connect to them using dedicated phone or iPad/tablet apps and then start observing and astro imaging.  The key to Smart Telescopes are their ease of use and quick setup. This lets you start your astronomy journey without having to spend time fiddling about with complex gear or working out how to run multiple software programs. While they're quick to get going, nobody stays a beginner forever as I'm always keen to point out, so they all have advanced features you can learn to use as your experience grows.  With the exception of some Unistellar models, there is no eyepiece on Smart Telescopes to look through.   Are Smart Telescopes just for beginners? Absolutely not! There are a large number of our experienced customers who've been observing and photographing the night sky, often for decades, who are now happy Smart Telescopes owners. Ease of setup, lightness and portability are big factors.  I've had more than a few of our regulars who said to me something along the line of "Earl, I've done more astronomy in the last three months with my new little scope than I've done in the last three years with my old gear..." We're also finding them being used more and more at astro open nights and even training workshops.  Are Smart Telescopes upgradeable? Apart from the Celestron Origin, the hardware of Smart Telescopes is generally not upgradable. This is much like what you'd find with most modern phones.  There are a small number of add on filters, tripods and EQ wedges. There's a growing cottage industry that are producing 3D printed lens shades and other accessories, however there's nothing we've seen so far that BINTEL has decided to stock.  What are these Equatorial head or wedge things I hear about?  An EQ mount, Equatorial Mount or "Wedge" all do the same thing. They tilt your Smart Telescope to allow it to not just follow your target but avoid the slight twist or "field rotation" that happens when they work in just up-down, left-right or Alt-Az mode.  This allows longer exposures for even more detailed images.  Using a Smart Telescope in EQ mode will need it to be "Polar Aligned" and pointed at the South Celestial Pole. This process used to be fiddly for beginners to get right, but their apps feature tools to do this in a couple of minutes. Please note that having an EQ mount such as the ZWO TH10 Head is a nice upgrade, however it's in no way essential. We often advise customers just starting out to use their new telescopes without EQ accessories while they get going.  Can Smart Telescopes be left outside? Smart Telescopes often have extensive observation planning features that allow you to capture an entire evening (or even more!) of astro images across multiple targets. You can leave them outside, sleep soundly and see what they've accomplished the following morning. If they cop a brief shower or heavy dew during the night, they'll be ok. They're NOT designed to be left outside for multiple days and nights.  Can I use Smart Telescopes to photograph the Sun? Yes. Make sure you have a Solar Filter installed on the front of your telescope before you do! DWARF Lab DWARF Lab were one of the early Smart Telescope suppliers. They currently have the   super compact DWARF mini, which holds the title of the smallest Smart Telescope. (The DWARF 3 model has just been discontinued as of time of writing.) We are quite fond of the DWARF mini as it has shrunk a full astrophotography rig down to the size of something you can carry around with you in a coat pocket or small bag. It's also only 840g or about the weight of midsized pair of binoculars.   A DWARF mini at BINTEL during the week. That's the entire telescope, camera and mount! It has a 30mm wide main lens and a Sony IMX662 sensor based camera, with a smaller wide-angle lens using a OmniVision OS02K10 based camera. For those used to traditional camera setups, think of the DWARF mini as having 1016 mm (telephoto) and a 45 mm (wide-angle) lenses. You can use it on a flat, solid surface or mount your DWARF mini on any standard photographic tripod. Despite its small size the DWARF mini produces stunning images.  You can check out more images from the DWARF Lab gallery here. Who the DWARF mini is ideal for: The DWARF mini is perfect for anyone after an affordable way to get into astro imaging or those who need an ultra portable little telescope for travelling.  You'll find the DWARF mini at BINTEL here. ZWO ZWO kicked off the trend of amazing small Smart Telescope with the original Seestar S50 which was followed by the Seestar S30. We now have the Seestar S30 Pro, a significant improvement to the previous Seestar S30.  The ZWO Seestar S30 Pro is one of the most popular and bestselling products we've ever sold here at BINTEL, with many hundreds going out the door.    It combines a 30mm four element "APO" main lens with a Sony IMX585 based camera and a wide-angle lens using a Sony IMX586. These allow you to shoot the night sky in 4K resolution.  Two of the main highlights of the S30 Pro is its wide field of view, along with the sensitive widefield camera. This has made it popular for capturing wide portraits of deep-sky objects. Here's a view of winter favorites, the M8 Lagoon Nebula and M20 Trifid Nebula captured with a ZWO Seestar S30 Pro and by Darren Rickett from Wyoming in NSW and posted to the BINTEL Society Facebook group here. Apart from close ups of deep-sky objects, the widefield camera on the S30 Pro can stitch 180-degree Milky Way panoramas and star trails.    Who the ZWO Seestar S30 is ideal for: This is a great choice if you're after an affordable Smart Telescope that offers a range of flexible imaging options in a compact package. There are lots of reasons why these are so popular.  Check out the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro at BINTEL here. Special note: both the DWARF mini and ZWO Seestar S30 Pro can be used during the day for scenery and even wildlife photography. It's also well worth exploring both the ZWO Seestar and DWARF Facebook and Instagram accounts and user groups to see examples of what others are doing with these small Smart Telescopes.  The ZWO Seestar S30 Pro and DWARF mini at Macquarie University Observatory during a recent imaging session run by BINTEL's Jess Gilmore. A handy way to compare their sizes! Vaonis Another pioneer in the Smart Telescope arena, French designed Vaonis Vespera telescopes are a big step up in terms of optical quality and imaging abilities. The three models in their current Vespera range all use a 50mm main lens and share the same general size and body shape, while differing in internal systems.  They are also small enough to be carried under one arm and would be easy to transport. A Vaonis Vespera 3 observing in a city environment Their Vaonis Vespera II was introduced a couple of years ago and uses a 4-element (quadruplet) APO 50mm f/5 lens with a Sony IMX585 sensor based camera. This is a significant jump in size from the 30mm class optics you'll find on the S30 Pro and DWARF mini telescopes. Larger optics reveal more details and produce better quality astro images.  The Vaonis Vespera 3 released a couple of months ago keeps the same camera sensor, while bumping up the quality of the main lenses to a more advanced  3-group flat-field APO quadruplet + baffle. Memory moves to 115 Gb with an 11 hour battery meaning you can image throughout the night.  Imaging sessions can even be spread multiple evenings with 15 Multi-night slots.  Moving up to the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2 will bring further refinements to same size 50mm optics while improving the camera sensor to a 12.5 megapixel Sony IMX676. The total size of the mosaic images doubles to 50 megapixels, along with onboard storage jumping to 225 Gb and 30 Multi-night slots. Some images captured with a Vaonis Vespera Pro 2 and Vespera 3.  Head over to the Vaonis gallery for more. Vaonis Design and Software Experience Smart Telescopes are as much software as they are hardware. The Vaonis Singularity app for Apple iOS and Android devices stands alone in design elegance and functionality.  There's also no doubt about the stylish, European design of the Vespera telescopes. We can't think of another piece of gear sold by BINTEL that, frankly, looks so bloody good! They're more like pieces of modern art that will stop people either when displayed in your home or out in the observing field.  Who the Vaonis Vespera telescopes are ideal for: The Vespera II at the current price of $3,499 is possibly the best value premium Smart Telescope available today. Its 50mm APO optics and 8.3 Megapixel camera combined with the Vaonis Singularity software suite are going to deliver some stunning images right from your first night out, while allowing you to further build and process your data as your skills grow. Additional features and upgrades to the Vespera 3 bring further image details and capabilities. The main lens baffles shield the telescope from stray street lighting and the bumps to the memory and battery capacity expand your sessions under the night sky. If you want the best looking star clusters, nebulae or galaxies of any Smart Telescope, this might be the one for you,  We'd probably point you towards the Vespera Pro 2 with its larger camera sensor if you'd like to go after more challenging astro targets or want to stitch together larger mosaic images either for printing or projection onto a larger wall display.  Learn about Vaonis at BINTEL here. Unistellar Another Smart Telescope pioneer and also another French company, Unistellar have two ranges of reflector based devices.  They are also the only Smart Telescopes that have models with eyepiece that you can look through.  Their ODYSSEY Smart Telescopes feature an 85mm reflector, with super easy setup and use. The Unistellar evScope2 uses a 114mm main mirror, a Nikon electronic eyepiece with micro-OLED display meaning you'll see down the 18.2 magnitude stars, live in your backyard.  Unistellar ODYSSEY Pro with Nikon eyepiece  One of the major highlights of the Unistellar Smart Telescope range is the company's heavy involvement in citizen science programs. If you'd like to join with other Unistellar owners to observe and discover asteroids, observe exoplanets, and study supernovae and even publish genuine scientific research, this might be your perfect choice.  Who the Unistellar telescopes are ideal for: Unistellar Smart Telescopes are great for their ease of use and if you'd like the experience of live viewing through a telescope eyepiece. They also have a vibrant citizen science community.  You can find out more about Unistellar at BINTEL here. Celestron The Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory Mark II is bit of a mouthful of a telescope name but it's also the largest and most capable Smart Telescope available today.  It uses a large 152mm (6") RASA Optics running at f/2.2, along a mount with built-in battery and Wi-Fi.  The Celestron Origin is famous for capturing large swathes of the night sky in fine details, and quickly too. It's also the only Smart Telescope that allows you to upgrade the hardware, with the main camera being at the front of the telescope.    The Celestron Origin is larger and closer to more traditional telescope in size. It's portable, although will require a little bit more effort to transport the mount, the Origin and tripod compared to smaller, more portable options The new Mark II version of the Origin features an upgraded camera that features a Sony IMX678C camera with significant improvements in image quality. This is the only difference. If you have one of the original Celestron Origin telescopes, you can upgrade it to Mark II specifications here. Find out more about the Celestron Origin at BINTEL here. Who is the Celestron Origin telescope ideal for: If you're after a system that will produce best quality astro images, the Origin would work for you. As it captures the light from deep-sky objects quickly, it would also be ideal for anyone running an astro tourism business or carrying out astronomy outreach and educational activities. We have a number of Celestron Origins performing these duties nightly around the country and would be happy to chat to about them to you if you're interested.  Do Smart Telescopes use AI to generate their images? No. The sophisticated software suites that are part of Smart Telescopes do not use generative AI to look at an image you've taken and then fill it in details either by using a library of existing images or using AI tools to simply make things up.  Image processing is a central part of astronomical imaging at all levels.   Experienced astrophotographers often use sophisticated software to reveal hidden details. What they will do is "tweak" a wide range of options as they combine multiple images into a single astro photo. We often have our customers go back to earlier datasets they captured once their skills have improved to mine and explore what details can be revealed with these new skills.  The apps powering Smart Telescopes are now automating these processes to a growing degree. This lets even beginners extract more from their images without the need for expensive software or hours of learning and processing.  You can turn these features off if you'd like. It means you can still process everything yourself and pull unprocessed data from your telescope.  Can I control my Smart Telescope from inside my house? Yes. Smart Telescopes produce a Wi-Fi network that your phone or iPad/tablet joins. They can also join an existing Wi-Fi network, so if your backyard has Wi-Fi coverage, you can set them up outside, then head indoors and your app will find the telescope on your home network. If you can cast or display your device's screen onto your big screen TV, you'll be able to see what your Smart Telescope has been working on your TV as well. A great way to share your astro images with friends and family. Do I need Internet access for my Smart Telescope to work? No. Astronomers like to head into the middle of nowhere to explore dark skies.  If you don't have 4G or 5G phone access there, don't worry! All the data needed to run your Smart Telescope will be downloaded when you install their apps.  Some of the more advanced cloud based image processing tools will need Internet access, but these are not needed to control the telescope and image the night sky. Will there be a new Smart Telescopes introduced and should I wait?  The answer to these questions is yes and no! As I say to customers, unless a company has announced that they have sacked all the engineers and designers who produced their current models, these companies are more than likely working on new models that will be introduced at some point.  You can say pretty much the same thing about phones, TVs, cars and so on.  One thing to remember about Smart Telescopes is that the telescope companies are very aware of the competition and in a race to introduce new features and capabilities via free app and firmware updates.  The Smart Telescope you purchased a year ago is probably quite different to the same telescope you're using today despite looking much the same and not having spent a cent upgrading it.  Wrapping it up BINTEL has a wide range of Smart Telescopes that start at just under $700. These wonderful gizmos have opened up the world of astronomy and astrophotography to folks who thought they'd never be able to afford to use more complex equipment, as well as making it easier for experienced astronomers to simply get out under the stars.  Smart Telescope Ideal For DWARF Lab mini Budget focused astronomers, travelers ZWO Seestar S30 Pro All-around deep sky imaging Vaonis Vespera Ultra detailed astro images, superb design & app Unistellar eVscope and ODYSSEY Live eyepiece viewing, community projects Celestron Origin High-end, fast capture of astro images   The crew here at BINTEL are more than happy to go through the features of various models at length to make sure you'll be starting out with just the telescope for you and the family. If you've ever wanted to get into astronomy, Smart Telescopes have made it the perfect time! Cheers, Earl White BINTEL  25th July 2026  

 Why do I need image stabilsation? There are a few reasons why you might want to consider image stabilised binoculars and spotting scopes.  Minimising hand movements or shakes plus improving the view First of all, as you increase the magnification of binoculars, not only does the size of the view get magnified, but also any hand movements or shakes. Everyone has some degree of hand shakes when using binoculars and while adjusting the way you position your arms and body, this is not something that will improve as the years go by. <sigh> If you find the time spent in the field, particularly when you're out birding, is becoming more demanding, then image stabilised binoculars might be a way to help avoid this.  There are many situations where higher magnifications really bring out the best views as well. Taking in details in distant scenery or close up observations of nesting birds are two examples. The other thing to consider is that our mind spends more time removing the "jiggles" and less enjoying the view.  What you see from image stabilised binos not only appears still, but also much brighter and sharper. Less tiring for extended viewing Even at "regular" magnifications such as 8x or 10x, you will start to tire during long observing sessions while you concentrate on the view. Removing the need to pay attention to holding your binoculars still move will make these sessions more relaxing and enjoyable.  Not exactly new Image stabilisation binoculars are not new and have been around for a while. There were models from Canon that went back to the late 90s and ones from Fujinon that were from about the same era.  Originally stabilised binoculars were popular for marine use and helped solve the problem of an unsteady platform beneath your feet and everything around you moving by using mechanical movement of the lenses to correct for shakes. These worked, but weren't especially compact. There were also some limitations on the optical capabilities of these earlier stabilised binos compared to other non-stabilised models. (I'll make a special mention of the ZEISS 20x60 T*S Image Stabilised Binoculars which are a purely mechanical design, masterful optics and super rugged.  The most expensive binos we've ever sold! They even use them on the International Space Station! Full details here.) Recent developments  The move over the last few years has been away from binoculars that move their lenses to keep the view steady to ones that use sensitive gyro sensors to subtly and quickly adjust their internal optical paths.  By quickly responding to movements detected by small, fast acting sensors, recent image stabilised binoculars  offer buttery smooth damping of shakes and bumps. These now offer at least two to three times the correction of older models.  Diagram showing how Fujinon's gyro stabilised binoculars work The more recent miniaturization of the stabilising system have not only made them fast and more accurate, it's also reduced the size of the binoculars as well to the point where they're not dramatically larger than non shake reducing models. This is very important if you're out birdwatching or travelling.  As their main lenses are always kept in alignment, the quality of the optics are now right up there with traditional binoculars. This was something older models struggled with slightly.  More compact mechanisms. As manufacturers further miniaturised the stabilisation systems, they were able to add the technology to even  25mm sized binos.   What model is best for me? Here's some of the popular image stabilised binoculars available from BINTEL Compact viewing options. Nikon STABILISED 10x25 and 12x25 These image stabilised binoculars are small enough to go anywhere with you while making long observations as comfortable as possible.  These are tiny, foldable image stabilised binos. They weigh only about 460g even with batteries and fold up into a tiny package.  The newer generation Nikon STABILISED binos are not much larger or heavier than regular binos of the same optical specification. Ideal for bird watchers after portable binoculars that are conformable to use for extended periods.    Nikon STABILIZED 12x25 S Binoculars Kenko VC Cellarto 10X30 Stabilised Binoculars WP Another range of compact image stabilised binos are the Kenko VC Cellarto. These offer about 28 hours of use from a single AA battery. Kenko VC Cellarto 10X30 Stabilised Binoculars WP Kenko have incorporated a dual mode system.  They steady the view if you're making long, sweeping movements for example when searching for birds or other wildlife and then automatically switch to another mode to minimize hand movements when you've found your critter and are now viewing it for an extended session. They're well priced and have a higher powered 15x42 model as well.  Higher end options.  The two premium line ups worth looking at are from Kite Optics and Fujinon Fujinon TECHNO-STABI  Fujinon are one of the pioneers of image stabilised binos and their latest models continue this tradition.  TECHNO-STABI models have correction ranges from ±3° in the compact models right up to ±6° in the flagship TS-X 1440. These high correction rates make them a great choice for anyone heading out on the water.  The compact TS 12x28 has been popular with our BINTEL customers.  It runs up to 30 hours on a single CR2 battery   Fujinon TECHNO-STABI Binoculars TS 16x28 The larger TS-X 1440 (14x40) adds the full ±6° correction range and a buoyant, water-resistant chassis. This means that if the go overboard, they float. No need to go diving in to retrieve them! Fujinon TS-X1440 TECHNO-STABI Binoculars The new Fujinon TS-L series have 16-x40 and 20x40 models, both with ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass for ultra sharp views.  They weigh around 850g, which makes them very manageable for use in the field.  Kite Optics APC Kite have been big hit with our birding customers as they make large high quality binos that have remarkable image stabilisation capabilities.  Their optics are also right up there with non-stabilised offerings from premium optical companies. Kite Optics binos are made in Japan, with final testing at their head office in Belgium. They've also nailed the power side of things as well. Both AA-battery and Lithium-Ion options are available.  It's sealed to IPX7 waterproofing so no dramas if you get caught in a heavy sudden downpour.  Check out the full Kite Optics range here.  Kite Optics APC Stabilized 18x50 ED Binocular (Li-ion) Kite Optics also have small and interesting new gizmo, the Kite Optics STABI ONE 10x20 Stabilised Monocular. This provides a tiny 10x20 monocular that is about as "go anywhere" as any optics could be. It runs off a single AAA battery that lasts for months.  An interesting accessory is a phone attachment allowing it to greatly add to the photographic abilities of your phone while taking up very little space. Basically, a telephoto phone lens with rock-steady views.  Kite Optics STABI ONE 10x20 Stabilised Monocular Image stabilised spotting scopes While image stabilised binoculars have made binoculars much easier and more comfortable to use, the image stabilising tech that has been introduced to spotting scopes recently has radically changed how these optics are use and added new options for those heading out to observe wildlife.  Traditionally spotting scopes have needed tripods as with their much higher magnifications, humans must use a tripod with them as we can't hold them still.  By removing the need for tripods, you're now able to use high power spotting optics without having to carry and setup a tripod.  The Kite APC 60ED with 17-35x magnification was the first to offer these features and caused a lot of interest from our customers.  Complete with rechargeable battery it weighs just 1300g.  Kite Optics APC Stabilised 60 ED Spotting Scope Recently the Swarovski AT/ST Balance were the first of the traditional leading European optical companies to get into the stabilisation market. Their two models, AT Balance (angled, 18-45x65) and ST Balance (straight, 14-35x50), bring the renowned Swarovski optical quality and a new SWAROBALANCE stabilisation system, which measures movement more than a thousand times per second for a super smooth damping of any hand movement.  Having tried these out in person, these new Swarovski image stabilised spotting scopes are almost uncanny in the views they produce. Your mind essentially says to you "this can't be real!" Swarovski AT Balance 18-45x65 Can I use image stabilised binoculars without the stabilisation? Yes.  They'll behave like normal binoculars of the same optical size if you switch it off or the batteries are flat. Image stabilised spotting scopes can still be used, although you will need to put them on a tripod to hold them steady. Downsides? There's two mainly. First of all, due to the inclusion of electronics and batteries, they will be slightly heavier than normal binoculars. They will also be more expensive.  Bottom line Image stabilising technology has spread from specialised, large binoculars in recent years to smaller and more capable optics. It's gone from something that holds binos steady when out boating to an option for many birders and nature viewers. The new image stabilised spotting scopes have opened up a new way of viewing and exploring nature.  We're always happy to chat with you about the best options to suit your interest and lifestyle! Cheers, Earl White BINTEL 17th July 2026      

Swarovski's new AT Endura 21-65x75 is a lighter, sealed one-piece 75mm spotting scope with a 21-65x zoom. A first look at the specs, what it replaces and where to get one at Bintel.

JWST Marks 4 years of stunning images and tantalizing discoveries Time flies fast when you're observing the Universe!  Hard to believe that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been observing the Universe for four years. To mark the occasion, NASA has released new images of the galaxy, Centaurus A (NGC 5128). This is a spectacular galaxy that is a favorite of astronomers of all levels, and its dark dust lane can easily be seen even in small telescopes.  This is the result of two (or possibly more) galaxies colliding about 2 billion years ago. Centaurus A was first observed from Parramatta in Sydney's western suburbs a smidge over 200 years ago. (We celebrated this anniversary in a blog article in March.) This is how astronomers usually see Centaurus A from Earth: Image by Lefty Wright taken with a Celestron EdgeHD 8" and posted to the BINTEL Society Facebook Group here. You can see the stars in the centre of the galaxy is heavily obscured by the vast dust clouds.  In contrast, this is how Webb now allows individual stars to be resolved.  Webb’s infrared instruments can see through much of the obscuring material to reveal individual stars, nebulae and other structures towards the centre of the galaxy.  This is because the dust clouds that block large amounts of the visual light but is far more transparent to the infrared wavelengths picked up by Webb's instruments.  It's well worth exploring the full suite of images at the NASA site here.  NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft wakes up after a long snooze It's been in the news. It's a pretty routine procedure. The famous spacecraft that gave us close up views of Pluto is starting the next phase of its mission. You probably remember the amazing images of Pluto that the New Horizons probe sent back to us in 2015. Following its close encounter with Pluto and its moon, Charon and the extended period it took to transmit that data back to Earth, the mission was granted an extension. Where has New Horizons been? The first objective was a flyby of the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth, which hadn't been discovered when New Horizons was launched in 2006. The close approach was in January 2019 and brought the spacecraft even closer than it had been to Pluto.   Arrokoth as seen from New Horizons in 2018 If you're asked what's the most distant object visited by a spacecraft from Earth, it's not Pluto nor did either of the Voyager probes encounter any outer Solar System bodies. It's in fact Arrokoth!  Following this flyby,  New Horizons carried out some observations of Proxima Centauri and other stars. In between these sorts of tasks New Horizons basically powers down into a hibernation mode to silently collect data while conserving power and resources.  On June the 23rd, flight controllers successfully "woke up" New Horizons following a 321 day deeps space snooze. It began transmitting data it had collected during this time. The spacecraft is 9.5 billion km from Earth and even at the speed of light, this data took nearly 9 hours to arrive back to its home planet.  New Horizons received a full health check and some software upgrades What's New Horizons going to do now? There's hopes for another encounter with a Kuiper belt object even further away from Arrokoth. The problem is that involves flying towards something that hasn't been discovered yet.  I had a chat with Dr. Alan Stern who is the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto.  Essentially New Horizons is observing the outer edges of the Solar System while scanning the sky for possible to destinations. "We are currently doing outer heliosphere observations and awaiting a crossing of the heliosphere’s termination shock sometime in the next 5 or so years. We are also searching for a new flyby target using data from the Vera Rubin Observatory and preparing to make new KBO (Kuiper Belt Object) observations next year." he told me.  While the Voyager probes continue to function somewhat and continue to provide observation of deep space, the 1970s technology onboard doesn't have the capabilities of the more advanced New Horizons.   Major update now out for ZWO Seestar S30 Pro owners These tiny little telescopes keep getting more impressive ZWO released a major app and firmware update for their Seestar Smart Telescopes. Many of the new features are available for the Seestar S50 and S30 models, however the additional hardware in the Seestar S30 Pro telescope can take best advantage of this update.  Some of the additions that caught our eye include: Star trails Creates stills and videos to highlight the visual images of the star fields above your head.  Image via @astroman.au "One tap" Milky Way shooting This lets you easily plan and compose 180-degree Milky Way panoramas. "One tap" all-night planning Make plans to start and plan an all-night imaging session, even across multiple objects.  There's also been major feature updates to the Seestar image enhancement abilities and we're looking forward to the extended network control system. This will allow you to connect to and control multiple Seestar telescopes over a LAN.  These new features will be automatically available when you update your ZWO Seestar Apple iOS or Android app.  Saturn is in the morning sky for early risers The rings are slowly opening up as well Where Saturn will be in the sky around 5.00am on Sunday the 12th of July 2026 as seen from Sydney. Image via Stellarium Saturn has been climbing across the early morning sky, getting higher before dawn as it heads to visibility through the night from late September and October. The rings can now be more easily seen in even small telescopes.  There's also a nice gathering of Mars, Uranus and the Moon near the horizon. If you have a clear view to the north, it might even be worth having a crack at spotting the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) which will be very low.  This covers more sky than several full Moons, so you'll probably need binoculars to take in the entire galaxy.  Next SpaceX Starship flight this week. Lucky 13? The 13th test flight of SpaceX's massive Starship rocket is due to take place in the coming week. This is the another launch of the "V3" version and with each flight, it continues be closer to being major launch platform.  We'll likely have news of how the flight week went in next week's blog.  Keep an eye updates on the launch here.  Cheers, Earl White BINTEL 11th July 2026

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory starts an amazing project. The LSST is now underway! We've talked before about the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. This new telescope aims to image large parts of the southern sky every few nights in unprecedented detail.  After decades of planning and construction and years of testing and fine tuning, it has now started its main project. The largest survey of the southern sky, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), is now underway.  During this 10-year project,  Rubin will constantly observe the entire southern sky every few nights to create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of our Universe.  When running at full tilt, the 8.4 metre Rubin telescope will take a 3,200 mega pixel image every 40 seconds, allowing astronomers to keep an eye out for night-to-night changes. We used to think of the Universe as hardly ever changing, simply moving above us on a clockwork-like schedule. We now know that there are constant changes and Rubin might see up to seven million of these changes, or transient phenomena, every night. “Today, we begin filming the greatest cosmic movie ever made,” says Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF Director. “This moment reflects decades of vision, innovation, and the power of federal investment in science through the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. Every night, NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory will expand the frontiers of knowledge and strengthen America's global leadership in science and innovation.” Rubin will not just scan for changes in our galaxy and beyond, it will find stunning numbers of yet-undiscovered objects in the Solar System, cataloguing millions of asteroids and comets.  Read more here. The Milky Way is even larger than we thought Does this mean there's even more of our galaxy to image? Sadly, no..... XMM-Newton & Chandra revise distance to the outer spiral arms Sometimes when you're living in the middle of something, it can be hard to work out exactly what surrounds you. This is even more so when you're orbiting one of maybe 100-400 billion stars in the Milky Way. (The exact number is still unknown and this is just an estimate.) Even more confusing is that we're embedded deep in one of the arms of the Milky Way and our view of the far side of the galaxy is blocked by gas, dust and billions of stars. In fact there is some debate about how many arms the Milky Way actually has! Estimates about the Milky Way have been based on observing the way stars move and how the galaxy rotates. However this leave a lot of room for error. Astronomers are trying to change this by studying data from the studying X-ray data from ESA's XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra observatories. They've noticed that explosions or gamma ray bursts (GRB) in other galaxies produce x-rays. “Instead, we did something new: we looked at the aftermath of three cosmic explosions that took place in far more distant galaxies. These explosions flung out X-rays that echoed through several of the Milky Way’s outer arms – and we measured the distances to these echoes directly.” said Beatrice Vaia of Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Italy, who led the research as part of her PhD. By studying how these ring-shaped echoes slowly expanded over time, Beatrice and colleagues were able to pinpoint the distance of the scattering dust grains. As these lie in clouds within the arms of our galaxy, the team could directly measure the distance of the arms. Besides confirming the known distance to the Perseus arm, the scientists found that two of the Milky Way galaxy’s arms – Outer Scutum-Centaurus Arm and Outer Arm – lie up to 10% further away than we thought. Can I photograph the Outer Scutum-Centaurus Arm and Outer Arm? No, not really. They're heavily blocked stars and dust and can't be seen in visible light. Read more about the new size of the Milky Way here. Even more signs of possible life found on Mars Another pointer to past life, but again we can't say for certain life once existed on the Red Planet   NASA's Perseverance Rover. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS There's been a number of major announcements that hint at past life on Mars. The Mars Perseverance Rover (or "Percy" to its friends) has been exploring the Jezero crater since 2021, and one of the major mission objectives has been to look for signs of past life.  Now researchers have announced that the most complex organic molecules even detected on Mars have been found in a rock outcrop dubbed "Blue Angel". Samples collected in 2024 have been found to contain macromolecular carbon (MMC). These are large networks of carbon atoms which are often found in Earth rocks containing fossilized biological carbon and meteorites.  We're not sure exactly how these molecules were formed. Billions of years ago, a river channel carried water and sediment into Jezero crater. Fine-grained sediment settled to the bottom before eventually hardening into the mudstone rocks the team analysed. "While the specific formation mechanism of the MMC detected in the Bright Angel mudstones remains unknown, this is still one of the most exciting findings to date," said Ashley Murphy, a Planetary Science Institute postdoctoral researcher. What's even more tantalizing is this discovery of organic molecules at Jezero is over 3000km from the organics found by the Curiosity Rover and found close to the surface too. This means that whatever the mechanism that caused them, could have been widespread across Mars. Again, this is not an announcement of the discovery of life on Mars. Organic materials can be formed by non-biological processes and the rovers on Mars don't have the ability to directly look at samples to detect life. For life to be fully confirmed either astronauts need land on Mars or the samples left on the surface by Percy are collected and returned to Earth for analysis in labs here. Cheers, Earl White BINTEL 4th July 2026   

Comet 3I/ATLAS is older than the Solar System  NASA confirms our most recent visitor is 10 to 12 billion years old.  We've chatted before about the most recent visitor to our Solar System, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.  It's now on the way back into deep-space with possible a rendezvous with another star system many millions of years in the future.  Earlier this week researchers announced results suggesting it was formed much earlier in the history of the Milky Way.  By interrupting the planned observing schedule of the Webb Space Telescope, a team of astronomers used its NIRSpec instrument to observe 3I/ATLAS. These observations revealed exceptionally high levels of deuterium, about 30 times more than seen in Solar System comets. Deuterium is an isotope or type of hydrogen that has an extra neutron along with the normal proton.  These high levels of deuterium found on 3I/ATLAS points towards it being formed in a much colder part of the Milky Way. In addition, the comet would have been exposed to plenty of radiation, but not any long-term warmth that would have reprocessed its “heavy water” ice, with deuterium, into the type of H2O ice we are familiar with on Earth. Researchers used the NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map specific chemical contents of comet 3I/ATLAS as it moved away from the Sun. Image via NASA, ESA. “This was a unique opportunity to study an ancient object from the distant galaxy, probably pre-dating our Sun and solar system,” said astro-chemist Martin Cordiner of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of the study. “On the one hand, we get direct insight into that distant time and place, and on the other, we learn something about how unusual our own solar system may be.” How old is old? It's now estimated that 3I/ATLAS formed some 10 to 12 billion years ago during a period of rapid star formation in the Milky Way. This puts this visitor at over twice the age of Sun and the rest of the Milky Way. “For us as scientists, finding these rare isotopes is fascinating, but the bigger picture here is looking at the possibilities of prebiotic chemistry elsewhere in the galaxy,” said Stefanie Milam of NASA Goddard and co-author of the study with Cordiner. “So far, we know of only one place in the vast cosmos where chemical ingredients led to life – our solar system, our Earth. Analysis of these interstellar objects is a major step towards learning how common, or uncommon, the conditions for the evolution of life are in the universe.” Where else has Comet 3I/ATLAS been? We don't have enough information about this comet to establish its full history certainty, but astronomers have indicated likely swung around over 60 of other stars over billions of years.  Are we looking for other interstellar visitors? Yes. Astronomers constantly keep an eye out for new comets as well as other types of interstellar visitors such as 'Oumuamua. Interestingly the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile celebrated the first anniversary of its initial release of the wide field images. Even though this scans the entire southern night sky, it hasn't confirmed any new interstellar objects, although at least one candidate is under review. Read more about the age of Comet 3I/ATLAS at the NASA site here. The deepest ever images of the Milky Way's "Galactic Bulge" in visible light 60 Million Stars in this image which covers more than 20 times the area of the Full Moon   Astronomers with the European Space Agency (ESA) turned the Euclid Space Telescope to observe the centre of the Milky Way. Normally spending its time capturing wide field views of distant galaxies, the time spent photographing the heart of our home galaxy has produced a simply stunning image that shows some 60 million stars in a single frame. Euclid covered 4.8 square degrees of the sky with this image, corresponding to 22 times the area of the full Moon as seen from Earth. The image has been rotated counterclockwise compared to the celestial projection: north is to the left and east is down. It's of particular interest to Australian astronomers as this region is almost overhead during our winter months and many of our BINTEL customers have spent hours happily imaging the Milky Way using DSLR or mirrorless cameras and star tracker mounts. The location in the sky of this Euclid image “In 24 hours, Euclid has already captured the stars involved in all the future microlensing events that the Roman space telescope will detect, but before the stars and planets involved have aligned,” says Natalia Rektsini of the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris in France, who led the release of Euclid’s galactic bulge survey data for the scientific community. “This means that anyone who detects a microlensing event in the same region, for example with Roman, will be able from now on to use Euclid data as a time reference in the past and see how the stars looked before they overlapped,” Natalia explains. “Since Euclid can clearly separate individual stars, one can then measure how fast they move over time and use that information to confirm the existence of a planet and determine its mass. This would not be possible with data from one point in time.” Read the full article here and see some more full resolution images. World's oldest impact crater is in Australia When you look at the Moon through even a small telescope, you can see a vast number of craters. These are round depressions that have been caused by impacts of space rocks hitting the Moon's surface.  You can even see craters within other craters, plus some appear slightly oval in shape.  There's caters like Imbrium Basin at about 1,455 km wide or even the South Pole–Aitken Basin which is some 2,500 km and one of the largest in the entire Solar System, while others visible are only a few km across.   Most of these craters resulted from impacts that happened during the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB). This is a hypothesized period that saw a spike in asteroid and comet impacts that scarred the Moon and inner planets including Earth which was roughly 3.9 to 4.1 billion years ago. We sometimes have people ask us, "if the Moon is covered by craters, why don't we see them here on Earth?" The answer is yes, we have craters on Earth, and it was certainly hit by many objects just like the Moon. However, the Moon is basically a dead body, while the Earth constantly erases its craters through weathering, plate tectonics, and water coverage. Even so, some survive. The team from Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) investigated rock formations at the North Pole Dome in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, By studying zircons, a mineral that "keeps time", they've now established them as being the results of an impact of approx. 3 billion years ago, making them the oldest crater formations found on Earth.  Lead author Professor Chris Kirkland, from the Timescales of Minerals Systems Group within Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the findings help resolve a longstanding question about the timing of the impact. “While the site had previously been identified as an ancient impact structure, its exact age remained uncertain,” Professor Kirkland said. “The impact left a ‘mineral clock’ behind. By dating minerals that were remade or newly grown in the damaged rocks, we can now pin down when this extraordinary event happened.   Read more at the Curtin University site here. Cheers, Earl White BINTEL 27th June 2026

Your eyes are probably not the same! Many people mightn't realise they have a slight difference in the focusing of their left and right eyes. It's something that's quite common and a diopter adjustment allows you to adjust for this variation between your eyes. It means that the binoculars have a different focus.  Binoculars usually have a small dial or ring that allows you to make a diopter adjustment.  How do I adjust the diopter? We tell people to close their right eye and look through your binoculars. (If this is tricky, put on just the right eyecup) then using just your left eye, focus your binoculars on something a little bit in the distance that has some crisp detail. This could be a tree branch, a rooftop or a traffic sign. Now, reverse the process. Shut your left eye or cover the left lens of your binoculars. This time don't touch the central focus wheel. Instead, adjust the diopter dial. This could be a dial around the outside of the right eyepiece such as the one on these Nikon Monarch M7 binoculars.  Depending on your binoculars, you just need to firmly twist them. On others, you might need to click up the right ring and then click it back down when you've finished the adjustment.  These Leica Trinovid binoculars at BINTEL use a click ring around the focuser to adjust the diopter. Twist the ring slowly from left to right to see if the image in your right eye comes more sharply into focus.  Hopefully it won't need much movement away from the central position at all! Next, switch eyes. Cover the left objective lens or close your left eye and now look only through the right side. This time do not touch the central focus wheel. Instead, turn the diopter ring until the same object is sharp for your right eye. Open both eyes or remove the left lens cap. You should notice that the view through your binoculars is a little sharper, especially if you need to twist the diopter dial more than a small amount.  The slight difference in your eyes has been "dialled" into your binos.  It might be worth repeating the process a couple of times focussing on different objects in the distance to fine tune the process. It's probably a good idea to make note of the diopter setting in case it gets bumped or you need to share your binos with other people.  What about if I wear glasses for long distance viewing and I want to use them with binoculars? If you use glasses for distance viewing, your optometrist has already taken into account the difference between your eyes as part of your glasses prescription.  You should be able to use your glasses with binoculars without the need to adjust the diopter setting.  The only thing to make sure of is that your binoculars have a decent eye relief. Eye relief is the distance behind the eyepiece at which your eye still sees the full field of view. Because your glasses hold the binoculars further from your eyes, you need longer eye relief to still see the whole image. Generally speaking, 15mm or more is comfortable for glasses wearers. What about if I wear glasses for long distance viewing and I don't want to use them with binoculars? In this case, there's a good chance you'll be able to use the focus to account for the change in focus your glasses perform. If the differences in your left and right eyes are too large for the diopter adjustment in your binoculars to cater for, you will need to still use your glasses. There are also some conditions, such astigmatism, that will still require you to wear your glasses.  This is only a brief introduction, so have a chat to us at BINTEL for more information! Cheers, Earl White BINTEL 26th June 2026

Winter Solstice this weekend Sunday, June 21, at 6:25 pm Sydney time This weekend marks the Winter Solstice in Australia and is also the longest night of the year and the shortest day. Why do we have longer nights in winter? The reason for the seasons and the changes in the length of the days and nights is because the Earth orbits the Sun at a slight tilt of about 23 degrees.  During the southern hemisphere winter months, our parts of the world are pointed away from the Sun. The Sun will appear in the part of the sky north of the "ecliptic" which is the line drawn around the middle of the sky.  The Solstice marks the date when the Sun is as far north as it's going to get. From now on, it will move south until the Summer Solstice in December when (as you might have guessed) it reaches it furthest southern point and starts the journey north again. The Earth during the southern winter solstice While we see the Sun move from east to west during the course of the day, the actual part of the sky where it's located changes constantly.  These longer nights are a delight for astronomers and with the rich central core of our home galaxy during the winter months, "Milky Way Season" is an ideal time for wide field astrophotography.  If this is the shortest night, is it the coldest day of the year? No. The reason is the atmosphere, land and oceans retain a lot of heat from the warmer summer months. It takes them a while to cool down. The coldest month in Australia is usually July. It's not the start of winter, at least not in Australia Many parts of the world including much of the north hemisphere, mark their season changes with the solstices and equinoxes. In Australia we start winter on the first of June. The dates of the solstices changes by a couple of days from year and using the calendar method allow better record keeping for farming and graziers.  What if the Earth didn't have a tilt, would we still have seasons? What about the rest of the Solar System planets? No.  The reason why we have seasons are entirely due to our planet's tilt.  Other planets including Mars, Saturn and Neptune have tilts not too far away from Earth and they all experience seasons as well.  Jupiter and Venus only have a miniscule tilt and don't have seasons. (Some would suggest that Venus has close to a 180 degree "tilt" as it spins backwards compared to other planets and is in fact upside down!) Neptune's tilt is almost 98 degrees, and it effectively spins on its side, making its seasons decades long. Nancy Grace Roman Telescope countdown As large as Hubble, with a field of view 100 times wider, due to launch on the 30th of August 2026 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy The latest space telescope from NASA has a unique mission. Over the next five years, it's going to be tasked with surveying and capturing large chunks of the night sky in unprecedented detail. Hubble and more recently the Webb Space Telescope have enchanted us all with close up details of both the deep-sky and Solar System. Roman will continue these types of observations, while covering much larger regions of the sky.   It's named after NASA's first chief astronomer, Nancy Grace Roman, who's often been called the "mother of the Hubble Space Telescope". A NASA illustration of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope It has the roughly the same size optics the famous Hubble Space Telescope but with a vastly wider field of view. Astronomers hope it reveal more about dark matter and dark energy as well as expanding the number known exoplanets and getting a better understanding of the star systems where they've formed.  Whenever new, large cutting edge telescopes and observatories start exploring the Universe, it's the unexpected discoveries that are often the most exciting. We're all looking forward to what the Roman Space Telescope will reveal.  What's also amazing about this telescope is that it's being launched under budget and ahead of schedule.  NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said recently: "The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is in final preparation for launch, eight months AHEAD of schedule and UNDER budget.  This milestone is the result of more than a decade of dedication and millions of hours of work by NASA and our industry partners. Their commitment is what’s making this moment possible and helping drive Gold Standard Science.  Roman will help answer some of the biggest questions in science, investigating dark matter, dark energy, and the structure of the universe. Its images will be so large and detailed, there isn’t a screen in existence big enough to display them." Hitch a ride with Roman! Until the 12th of July 2026, if you visit this NASA site you'll be able to add your name to a special SD memory card that will fly with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and even score your own NASA boarding pass: You can part be of the mission and be connected with this very special astronomy project.  Cheers, Earl White BINTEL 20th June 2026      

NASA Announces the crew for the upcoming Artemis III mission Astronauts will test out multiple space systems in low Earth orbit We've all been thrilled with the return of astronauts to the Moon during the recent Artemis II mission, which swung around the Moon before heading back to Earth. It was the first time since 1972 that humans had travelled beyond Earth orbit and the furthest that astronauts had ever been away from our home planet. NASA announced the crew of Artemis III this week. They are: NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, commander ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano, pilot NASA astronaut Andre Douglas, mission specialist NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, mission specialist The Artemis III crew. Unlike Artemis II, this mission scheduled to fly in 2027 will remain in low Earth orbit. There's been comparisons to the Apollo 9 mission in March 1969 which tested the Lunar Lander before it was sent to the Moon. Unlike the Apollo Lunar landing where each mission was a single launch of a Saturn V, Artemis missions from now on will a combination of two or more spacecraft from partners beyond NASA. It will test one or both commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin along with rendezvous and docking. These will be launched separately from the SLS (Space Launch System) which will carry the Artemis III crew.  "Artemis III will be unlike anything we’ve ever undertaken. A multi-launch campaign bringing together the most powerful rockets in the world to test rendezvous, docking, and interoperability across multiple systems close to Earth before we return astronauts to the lunar surface." said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman this week.  You can read more about Artemis III at the NASA page here. Celestron NexStar SE vs Evolution Telescopes The upgraded Evolutions series have a few handy features If you're looking for a reasonably large but portable, computerised telescope for both planetary and deep sky observation as well as astrophotography, there's two options from Celestron that are worth considering: Celestron NexStar 8SE Celestron Evolution 8 The Celestron NexStar 8SE includes a tripod and hand controller The NexStar 8SE is a development of the classic Celestron C8, which was a favourite among astronomers around the world for decades. The metallic colour is a tribute to the orange tubes of those early telescopes. (We still see some of these vintage Celestron telescopes still in regular use when they arrive in our BINTEL workshop for a clean and service.) The reasons they were so popular remain solid today. The 203mm (8") diameter main mirror collects considerably more light for better viewing compared to smaller telescopes. The SCT (Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope) design provide a long focal length while offering short and portable optics. An SCT of this size is "just right" and the perfect combination of size and power for many astronomers. The NexStar SE adds a fully computerised "GOTO" mount that will move the telescope to a planet or deep-sky object you select with the included hand controller and once it's found, will keep following it as the Earth turns during the night.  As more astronomers used the popular NexStar SE series telescopes, they of course had a few ideas about how they could be improved. Celestron listened and put three handy upgrades into their NexStar Evolution series.  The Celestron NexStar Evolution 8 has Wi-Fi connectivity The tubes of the NexStar SE and Evolution of the same size are identical with the same StarBright XLT optical coatings. The only real difference is a differently coloured coat of paint.  The upgraded features of the Evolution are all focused around the mount.  First up, the power to the mount now a rechargeable lithium-iron phosphate battery. This provides enough power for 10 hours of continuous observing. NexStar SE telescopes have internal AA-batteries or can be run off an external power supply.  The other handy feature addition is the ability to control the Celestron Evolution telescope over Wi-Fi using an app like Celestron's SkyPortal and others.  Finally, the mount itself is stronger and more stable. This makes for even steadier viewing and is especially useful when using a Celestron Evolution Wedge for extended photographic exposures.  To wrap it up; The Celestron NexStar SE series remains an evergreen range of telescopes for serious beginners and those upgrading from their first telescopes. The Celestron NexStar Evolution 8 and others in the series offer the same viewing with useful and well thought out upgrades to enhance your overall experience.  If you're unsure which Celestron NexStar is best for you, we're always happy to provide our tailored opinion.    Have you noticed the two bright "stars" this week?  This weekend is a chance to see three planets If you've had a chance to look into the westerly sky just as it was getting dark over the last week or so, you might have seen two stars that have outshone any other star in the sky. We have had quite a few people asking us exactly what they've seen.  What's been in the sky is a conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter and if you had a clear horizon, you might have been able to spot Mercury as well.  Of the two bright planets, Venus is the brighter and Jupiter is fainter and a little bit more yellow in colour. A conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and Mercury on the evening of the 13th of June 2026 at about 6.00pm as seen from Sydney. Image via Stellarium.  What's a conjunction? This is when objects line up in such a way that they appear quite close to each other in the sky but are in fact quite a long way apart. Their movements across the sky are a combination of our own orbit around the Sun each year and their own orbits.   This illustration will give you a very rough idea of where the planets are at the moment. Venus, Mercury and Jupiter are lined up away from the Sun compared to the Earth.  This image is not to scale in the slightest. The stars are pretty much fixed in the same positions, and any noticeable movements would only occur over the span of many, many human lifetimes. If you see a bright "star" either on its own or with others that you have only just noticed, it will be one of our Solar System planets putting on a show! Planetary conjunctionslike these might appear close to your eyes but are still too far apart to view with a telescope. Well worth checking out in any pair of binoculars however.   Cheers, Earl White BINTEL 13th June 2026