Best Telescope Dew Caps
The Orion Scope Cloak Telescope Cover is an affordable and easy to use telescope cover that protects your equipment from dust, dirt, dew, and sunlight. Keep your telescope set-up and ready for viewing in your garage, shed, or home observatory without worrying about dust and dirt contamination. The highly reflective exterior surface rejects solar radiation, keeping your telescope cool when left in sunlight and reduces cool-down time (the amount of time required for your telescope to reach thermal equilibrium after nightfall). Keep your telescope assembled and ready for action in your shed, garage, or home observatory with a ScopeCloak to prevent dust and dirt buildup.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I am getting used to getting it over the telescope because it is quite large, large enough for a large scope."
"It's nice to be able to leave OTA, arm and tripod set up for an extended period outside."
"I love it."
"That Cloak cover was a very nice, but it was a little too big for my telescope."
"A little bit expensive for what it is, otherwise a great product."
"Comes in handy, especially in the southwest!"
"I am very happy with this cloak cover, excellent quality, covering perfectly my Orion 10" Newtonian astrograph, allowing me, to leave my telescope setup for a couple nights, saving me a lot of work during consecutive imaging sessions."
The finder also has an adjustable brightness display that is settable to remain constantly lit, or pulse-blink at rates as fast as several times a second, allowing easier viewing of dimmmer stars, when starhopping. One Tenth the size & weight of some other "reflex" sights, makes aiming your telescope easy with its wide-open right-side-up view.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Doing a rough alignment on a power pole visible in the distance from the back yard, and then fine tuning the alignment on Polaris, I found that it was very easy to position the mount and center an object for viewing. If the celestial object was within the inner (1/2 degree) circle, it was easily within my field of vision using the 20mm eyepiece.The reticule can be dimmed way down when you are looking for low magnitude objects, and I find that the blinking feature helps as well."
"I bought this because it seemed it did everything the Telrad + add-on to make light pulse did for significantly cheaper; the Rigel product just isn't as widely used so wasn't reviewed as much! One of the problems I've had with past laser dot finders is that the red light only moves from very very bright to uselessly dim."
"* MUCH EASIER TO ADJUST THAN A TELRAD! It is very good that I also have an optical finder which holds adjustment because resetting your unit finder is a PITA!"
"Rigel QuickFinder scope is lightweight and the included 2 bases with adhesive tape makes it easy the switch it from my 8" SCT to my 4.5" Reflector with a simple click on and off maneuver."
"I appreciate being able to dim the circles and the flashing option is great when trying to sight dimmer objects."
"I purchased a second QuikFinder to complete a targeting rig on an old Orange Tube C8 with a damaged 8x50 RACI and a stock 6x30 achromatic doublet in order both to enable and to teach field narrowing techniques when locating celestial targets."
This 55mm crown or Snap-On light blue cap is the industry standard cap for 3 and 5 gallon water bottles. The perfect solution to transporting water, BPA free, made in USA, sold exclusively by AquaNation llc.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"These fit perfect on our water bottles...."
"Great snug fit on my 5 gallon water bottle."
"We refill our 5 gallon jugs at home with city water and then lug them up to our cottage."
"Love these."
Best Telescope Diagonals
The larger 2” barrel allows you to see a bigger percentage of the telescope’s light cone, which works wonders for capturing faint deep sky objects with low surface brightness. The mirror’s surface is covered with the same high performance XLT coatings used on Celestron’s best telescopes, and the result is a sharp, bright image that will satisfy the most discriminating amateur astronomer. Housing is precision machined to achieve and hold good optical alignment.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"At first I thought some of the parts were plastic but careful inspection showed it is all metal - though some of the metal is so highly polished and perfectly black coated it could be mistaken for plastic. The drawer ease compound sold in hardware stores works and even white candle wax is OK. Just rub it on telescope's threads and wipe off any excess with a tissue before threading the parts together."
"This two inch diagonal is a significant upgrade to the stock 1.25 inch diagonal that came with my CPC 800. I completely recommend upgrading your stock diagonal to something like this, even if you plan on only using 1.25-inch diagonals. No, just a nicely made telescope diagonal (I'd prefer the diagonal to anything Gucci, anyway)."
"However it turned out to be fine, the item seems to be well made out of metal; also compares to my cheap kit diagonal mirror it is a big improvement."
"The 4-star rating is because it would be really nice to have a version that utilizes the full rear cell for the 11 and 14 inch SCTs to make sure as much light as possible comes through. I have a custom made adapter that I used when I imaged with an OAG and opening up that full rear cell helped. They claim it is interferometrically tested, which I completely believe knowing people who work at Celestron, but it would be nice if they stated what their flatness standard is - many competitors seem to be 1/10th or better."
Best Telescope Filters
Style: NexImage 5 Solar System Imager (5MP). Machined aluminum 1.25-Inch adapter barrel makes NexImage compatible with most any telescope Barrel accepts standard 1.25 eyepiece filters 1.25-Inch adapter barrel makes NexImage compatible with most any telescope.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I took it apart a 2nd time to clean the glass and sensor, and I saw that the sensor now had a scratch from the loose glass. Original Review: Before I bought this camera, I was learning how to do Astrophotography one step at a time. Next came some video on a 8" SCT with my A57, followed with stacking in Registax, which produced some decent beginner images. After seeing some examples online of others' images, I knew I had to make the leap to a dedicated astro camera, if I were to make any progress. On the computer, select a large video size and adjust the exposure and focus the telescope until it comes into view. Then, you can begin adjusting the video size and make you final videos. If the planet is high in the sky and it's standing still, you're going to get a fantastic video. The best viewing occurs near opposition and/or perigee, when the planet is brightest and/or closest, and only when the planet is high in the sky."
"You won't be taking any pictures of galaxies, nebulae, or star clusters with this camera. The image of Saturn (for example) as projected by most amateur telescopes will be very small so they build the camera with a detector with very tiny pixels all packed together. Unless you have a really good mount with an accurate finder it will be very hard to find Saturn with the very small field of view you get with this camera. If you use an eyepiece to find Saturn and then switch to the camera you won't be able to get an accurate focus except by chance. High frame rate is important to remove atmospheric disturbance with RegiStax, the stacking software you must learn to use to get really good pictures. To see what is possible I suggest visiting the "Solar System Imaging & Processing" forum at Cloudy Nights (cloudynights.com)."
Best Telescope Eyepieces
Six colored eyepiece (planetary) filters.A tight fit is better, so remove the least amount of foam possible before testing the fit.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have a Celestron refractor and reflector, and they came with OK eyepieces, but with all the choices I have now, 5 different zooms and a 2X (so more like 10 choices) plus the 2X works with my existing eyepieces - The possibilities are endless."
"I have had some of the cuffs around the eye pieces wear down after a year of use, but they really are not important to me, because I use it in complete darkness."
"I like the variety of accessories in this kit, even though only a few are used regularly."
"The lenses are tightly protected in their cushions, which is the best feature since I tend to swap lenses around while star gazing."
"The problem with that is there is no way for me to identify which eyepiece to spend my money on without experience."
"With this kit you get two or three very decent eyepieces, a couple that you will not use very often, a barlow (2x magnifier) so you can get more power from the good eyepieces, a moon filter among others, and above all a great eyepiece case."
"First of all folks, please know that a "lens" is the glass on the business-end of a refractor telescope, or the optic on your CAMERA. Secondly, any "set" of eyepieces is generally going to be 90 percent useless. That's because most of the higher powered eyepieces in the set will only get used once or twice -- until you finally realize that high powers are only useful on a telescope if you're in a VERY DARK LOCATION, with almost perfect sky conditions (an extremely rare combination!). And if you shop smart, you'll find a high-quality 32mm Plossl and a 2X Barlow -- Televue for example, are hands-down the best production optics available! [NOTE]: These are not Celestron's "Feature" eyepieces -- they are their "accessory" eyepieces, and like Meade's accessory EP's they are only of average quality, and are usually way overpriced, like most Meade/Celestron accessories. My advice is to save for a Televue 32mm or 25mm Plossl, ($110 to $135 online) and 2X Barlow, ($115) and buy a Moon filter online from a reputable dealer (Orion offers an excellent Moon filter [#05662] for about $15, which I've been using since 1997)."
Best Telescope Finder Scopes
The small ring outlines the Moon-sized area seen in the telescope. To point your telescope, just look through the Telrad and move the telescope until the rings are centered on the object. The view seen through the window of the Telrad is continuous with the sky around it, not magnified or upside down.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had planned to use it simply as a finder for goto telescope initial alignments but I discovered that it mounts in the perfect place to get a perfect feel for where the telescope is actually pointed in the sky after going to an object."
"Good as new."
"I use this for operating spotlight in live theater and dance productions."
"Originally used for aligning your telescope to find planets or stars, we in the entertainment industry use these to locate people in the dark during stage productions, while operating spot lights."
"Calibration Springs were missing, but was going to upgrade to coil springs anyways."
"Instead of peeling off the paper to stick the base on to my ota permanently, I found some thin rubber feet at he home depot, stuck them onto the the paper you peel off of the telrad base, and made a valcro strap to loop around the base of the telrad and the ota."
"Very satisfied witht the functionality."
"It works exactly as advertised."
Best Telescope Motor Drives
If the set screw is not tightened, the motor could slip and not drive the telescope properly. Enter your model number to make sure this fits.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Make sure you remove the corresponding (RA) knob on the telescope, or you will break the flexible aluminum motor mount coupler. Note that the only way to adjust right ascension once the motor is connected is to loosen the r.a. lock nut and then turn the scope manually. This requires a bit of trial and error, watching say one of Jupiter's moons staying at the same distance from the edge of your viewing disk. Of course in my case it happened right when I was trying to take some long exposures of the Andromeda galaxy ... EDIT 4: Mine has been running for a year now without any issues whatsoever."
"It works, but keep in mind that it will be only for visual or short exposures maybe 30 second max."
"Perfect motor drive for keeping your scope on track of an object you are viewing."
"tracks well really helps for those long exposure shot."
"It uses a simple voltage controlled oscillator to drive the motor and if you take care balancing the telescope to avoid heavy load on gears this stuff will last forever."
"I tested it two times last year and it does an amazing job on tracking Stars."
"Got this along with a replacement."
"worked when i set it up, didn't work when i actually tried to use it."
Best Telescope Barlow Lenses
The Orion Shorty 2x Barlow Lens doubles the magnifying power of any 1.25 inch eyepiece, essentially dividing the eyepiece's focal length by a factor of 2. Not only does the Orion Shorty 2x Barlow's power-boosting ability mean you can enjoy two different viewing magnifications with each 1.25 inch telescope eyepiece in your collection, the Shorty Barlow can also make observing at high powers more comfortable. Double the power of any 1.25" telescope eyepiece with the Orion Shorty Barlow Lens.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"However, this is a great quality lens for an amateur like me."
"If you have a new telescope and you are looking to increase your collection of lenses, I recommend getting the Shorty Barlow Lens."
"May need an eye filter/protector on a full moon night."
"I can see the moon much clearer, sharp view of Saturn's ring and Jupiter bigger and brighter."
"I just got the Orion Skyquest XT8, and it surprised me how tiny planets look through the eyepiece."
"Works great."
"Item is as described, works well in my telescope."
Best Telescope Photo Adapters
Get Your Mobile Phone Into Video Camera and Image Capturer in Distant, Tiny World . Features: Compliable with Binocular, monocular, telescope, microscope, spotting scope, night vision and most optical device. Adjustable clamping force -- The phone clamping part features adjustable locking mechanism with a steel bolt (not a spring). Phone is well protected by High density EVA pads and nothing contacts your phone's screen. Search its name: Gosky Universal Cell Phone Adapter Mount (The best seller in Telescope Photo Adapter).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This product is awesome!!"
"Mounting the device is simple enough, though for smaller eyepieces I found the mount loose – at no fault to the adaptor. You not only have to align your phone with the eyepiece, you must also adjust the pitch, roll, and yaw until you have a centered image. Distance from the eyepiece also matters and depending on the optics, you may find better results having the adaptor’s clamp flush with the edge of the eyepiece, leaving a gap between the phone’s camera and the eyepiece, or a closer mount may work better. Once everything is adjusted, don’t be surprised if the image is not as bright or as large as what you would see using just your eyes – typically you’ll see the circular image taking up a small fraction of the screen."
"It feels like brass knuckles it is so sturdily built, especially compared to my last plastic Arcturus Labs adaptor which fit only iPhone 5 and which cracked with steady usage over the course of a year."
"And I got a feature I hadn't even noticed in the description: it has a 1/4 - 20 threaded hole, so I can mount my phone on a tripod via this adapter when not using it on a 'scope. It make look strange at the rifle range, leaning over my scope and saying, "Cheese! Unless your tripod is solid concrete, your phone will weigh down the back of the scope and make it point up more. Remember that if you change the view to something nearer or farther, you'll need to refocus the scope. UPDATE 11/9/16: The two samples here are the same photo: a full-frame version to show what my cell phone produced, but reduced to only 1.6 MP for quick uploading and viewing, and a cropped version of just the eagle, left at full resolution. The eagle was nervous about my being there beside the road, and if I took too long perfecting the shot, I might have been left with a photo of perfectly sharp, but empty branches."
"Works just as described."
"It works great and is easy to pull out of my pack, slide onto the scope and attach the phone."
Best Telescope Remote Controls
Product Packaging: Standard Packaging. *Battery life: Approximately two months of continuous shooting with a delay of 5 min, an exposure time of 4 min 56 s, and an interval of 5 min. Compatible with: Canon (Replacement for RS-60E3). EOS Digital Rebel. Digital Rebel (aka 300D). Rebel T1i (aka 500D). Rebel XT (aka 350D). Rebel XTi (aka 400D. Rebel XS (aka 1000D & Kiss F). Rebel XSi (aka 450D & Kiss X2). EOS Kiss/New Kiss/Kiss 7/Kiss III. Rebel 2000, Rebel G, Rebel G II, Rebel T1, Rebel T2, Rebel T2i. ELAN 7, ELAN 7E, ELAN 7N, ELAN II, ELAN IIE, IX LITE. PowerShot G10/G11. Pentax (Replacement for CS-205). K10D/K110D/K100D/K20D/K200D/KM. *ist D/DS/DS2/DL/DL2/K10. MZ-6, MZ-L, ZX-L. Hasselblad: H/H1/H2/H2D/H1D. Contax: 645/Nl/Nx/N/N Digital/LA-50. Samsung: GX-20 GX-10 GX-1L GX-1. *BULB/Long Exposure (LONG). 350D (Digital Rebel XT), 400D (Digital Rebel XTi), 450D (Digital Rebel XSi), 500D, 1000D.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I just wanted to say that this timer works with the Canon Rebel T3i / 600D even though it is not specifically listed."
"My problems are that the shutter release button has wear on it, not as much as one of the photos from the other review shows but enough, the rear battery cover does not snap in or stay on (you have to tape it on), and the front LCD screen is scratched all over. Photos: 1) Shows Remote and Wear on Shutter Release Button. 2) Shows Instruction Manual Excerpt re: Powering Off. 3) Shows Scratches on LCD Screen (Was very difficult to get a photo of, hope it comes out clear enough to see)."
"I've found ones that let you do BULB exposures and wireless remotes. ), how long for each exposure (in BULB mode), how frequent to shoot a frame, and how many pictures to shoot in the sequence."
"This unit does not have a power on and off button so what I just do is take out the batteries once I'm done so it doesn't drain them while not in use. For this price this is the best thing you can buy if you want to set your camera on a tripod and shoot with a remote or just need a remote to do time lapse videos."
"has H,M,S settings so if you want to start in 2 hours, set it to 02:00:00, and long which I read it was exposure time, so if you set your exposures to 2 seconds, then you'd probably want to set your interval at least long +1 second, so set interval to 3 in this example. N is how many exposures, 1-399 and infinity till your battery runs out, and a music symbol to beep everytime it activates the shutter, which is either off or on."
Best Telescope Guiders & Wedges
The Orion StarShoot AutoGuider's sensor is a high-resolution, 1/2" format 1.3-megapixel CMOS monochrome chip, with 5.2 micro x 5.2 micro pixels for highly accurate guiding. With the StarShoot AutoGuider, precision autoguiding for deep-sky astrophotography is now easier and more economical than ever. StarShoot AutoGuider keeps track of a selected guide star and communicates constantly with connected equatorial telescope mount to correct any tracking errors throughout long exposure astrophotography sessions. Included software offers automatic calibration and autoguiding with a single mouse click. StarShoot AutoGuider keeps track of a selected guide star and communicates constantly with connected equatorial telescope mount to correct any tracking errors throughout long exposure astrophotography sessions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A simple, nice guide camera to give your favorite mount an eye on the sky."
"In PHD you may need to alter the advanced settings (brain icon) to help with settling the RA and DEC. Use the graph to monitor and alter settings until the guiding smooth's out."
"This little no frills camera, when used with the included Stark Labs PHD software, does exactly what it's advertised to do."
"Works good."
"Had to wait 2 weeks before I could try it out, cloudy sky's, but once I did it performed flawlessly."
"a must have autoguider if you want to do long exposure excellent quality astrophotography."
"This works great with my astro setup."