Good Opportunity to Look for Comet McNaught

Comet McNaught was discovered a year ago and is now approaching its maximum predicted brightness and is also passing close to the Pole Star. It's too faint for the naked eye but should be visible in binoculars so why not try to track it down and hone your observing skills. The comet has been moving up the side of Cepheus closest to the Little Dipper and is heading towards the head of Ursa Major.

Ther are some rather nice pictures of the comet here. The one taken by Michael Jager on April 25th is particularly impressive. Keep clicking on the image until you get the full-size version.

Nexstar 4 SE on the Gadget Show

Celestron's Nexstar 4 SE telescope was featured on the Gadget Show on Monday night on Channel 5. It won the 'best buy' award so is well-worth looking at if you want a compact, automated telescope that will find and track thousands of objects.

Its 4-inch aperture and Maksutov-Cassegrain optics make it ideal for the Moon and planets, but it's also large enough for a wide range of deep-sky objects. If you're not familiar with it you can find it on our web site at http://www.green-witch.com/acatalog/NexStar_SE_Series.html

Swarovski Optik

I've just returned from a visit to Swarovski Optik's factory in Austria. It's close to Innsbruck and also not far from the crystal factory. The optik factory makes rifle scopes, binoculars and field scopes and we were shown around the whole production process as well as gaining some horse's mouth product training.

Usually people ask her why Swarovski products are expensive but when you see the investment and attention to detail you wonder how they can make them for the money.

We flew to Munich then took a coach to the factory at Absam. Munich airport was closed due to volcanic ash just after we arrived so we were lucky to make it. The whole visit was very well organised by Swarovski and proved most enjoyable and useful.

Both Lee and I are impressed by the new EL 8.5 x 42 binoculars and the factory visit confirmed that a great deal of high technology and skill goes into making them so good.

Quality Bird Food

One of the other visitors to Swarovski was Chris Whittles, founder of CJ Wildbird Food from whom we obtain the bird food, feeders and nest boxes that we sell. It was most illuminating to discuss in detail why CJ foods are so much better than most of the bird food you will find in supermakets and garden centres. Oil and fat content, and freedom from harmful toxins are vital for the birds' welfare. Chris is passionate about birds and ensures that all his products fully meet their needs.

The Answer to the Secret of the Universe - a 42-metre Telescope

The European Southern Observatory has chosen the site for the European Extremely Large Telescope which is a major step forward in the development of the observatory. The site chosen is a 3,000-metre high mountain in Chile's Atacama Desert.

The site chosen is called Cerro Armazones and it is about 20 km from the four 8-metre telescopes that make up ESO's VLT (Very Large Telesocpe) at Cerro Paranal.

When completed the EELT will be the world's largest optical telescope, over four times the diameter of the current largest telescopes. It may be just a coincidence that its diameter in metres is the same as the answer to the secret of the universe in the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I wouldn't be surprised if the final design was tweaked a bit to make it so.

ATIK CCD Cameras

Green Witch is now an authorised retailer of Atik CCD cameras which are proving very popular. These high-performance cameras provide excellent value for money and are easy to use. Lee has tried out the 314L+ and the brand new 383L+ and is very impressed. Please call him if you would like to discuss them.

Atik cameras are made in Portugal and are shipped direct to us. We generally keep the more popular ones in stock but shipping from Portugal only takes a couple of days. You can find details of the cameras and accessories at http://www.green-witch.com/acatalog/Atik_Cameras.html

Giant Hubble Image at Green Witch - Saturday 15th May 2010

Andy Green has been awarded one of the Hubble 20-year celebratory prints from the European Space Agency. The image was chosen as a prime example of the quality of image and stunning beauty for which the Hubble Telescope is famous. Andy will be showing the giant print and talking about his work as an astronomy educator on Saturday so please call in to see him from 2 pm onwards.

Andy is in regular demand for space and astronomy lecturing and also runs the Stardome Mobile Planetarium which is very popular with schools and other organisations. This would be a good opportunity to talk about the planetarium with Andy. You can find details at http://www.stardomeplanetarium.co.uk

Televue Ethos 3.8mm Eyepiece

Televue were the first manufacturer to introduce an astronomical eyepiece with a 100-degree apparent field of view and their Ethos range has proved extremely popular. Until recently the range consisted of six eyepieces with focal lengths of 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 13mm, 17mm and 21mm but Televue have now surpassed themselves with the announcement of a 3.7mm Ethos with an apparent field of 110 degrees.

Called the Ethos-SX it offers what Televue call the Simulator Experience. It has the same apparent field of view as the optics that Al Nagler designed 45 years ago for the moon-landing simulator used by the Apollo astrononauts.

Price is expected to be similar to the 10mm Ethos and first deliveries are scheduled for Autumn this year. We are taking advance orders now.

Further details can be found at http://www.televue.com/pdf/NewsRelease_EthosSX.pdf

And Finally...

It has been a long time since our last newsletter so I'm sorry not to have been in touch sooner. The next newsletter should be out much sooner when we have a significant announcement to make. Watch this space.

Clear Skies and Best Wishes

Neil

www.green-witch.com
www.arizonaskyvillage.co.uk