North Lincs astro meeting 7th September 2015

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Reviewer

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Despite the prospect of cloudy skies later in the evening, a good turn out of 21 people turned up for the North Lincolnshire astronomy society on Monday 7th september 2015.

Once we eventually got in side the building at Far Ings nature reserve, we were treated to an excellent talk on the science , physics and chemistry about the life cycle of our nearest Star, the Sun by our ever present speaker Chris Roche

The talk was put in a way that we could all understand, and gave us a great insight of the history,  composition and future death of the Sun

Thankfully those who got their early were treated to some lovely views of the Sun through a Skywatcher 90mm refractor with Baader solar film attached

See more info on the North Lincs astro website at http://northlincsastro.org/

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Ostara 1.25″ FF (flat field) eyepieces

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Reviewer

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The Ostara FF range of eyepieces offer great quality optics at an affordable price. First thing out the box you will notice the solid construction. Fully multi-coated optics and great internal baffling give excellent colours and contrast.

As the FF (flat field suggests) you get very good edge of field sharpness, and a step up in quality from many lower priced plossls

Great news for spectacle wearers with long eye relief. Eye cups are twist type. Attractive black finish with rubber grip

Click HERE to buy from Northern Optics

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Long tailed tit. Far ings nature reserve. 5/9/15

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Reviewer

long tailed tit 5.9.15a

On a chilly late Summer morning at Far Ings nature reserve at Barton Upon Humber there was a good number of Longs tailed tits feeding on berries..Took this one with my Canon EOS 1100D + Tamron 70-300mm lens. f8 at 400 ISO

 

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Optical Hardware T2 mount for connecting SLR , DSLR cameras

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Reviewer

T2 mount

T2 mounts, t-mouts, t-rings or t-adapters . There are many ways people describe this adapter. I call them a t-ring. Designed to connect many SLR or DSLR camera bodies to a telescope or spotting scope.

To connect to the telescope you will need a t-adapter. This is a simple device that fits on to the scope, with a thread for the t-ring. Some telescopes have this t-thread direct on the telescope focuser, or in some cases direct on the eyepiece

For best results use no eyepiece. This is called prime focus photography. Because the light is travelling through less glass and mirrors, you will get a brighter view with higher contrast.

Taking images through an eyepiece , or eyepiece projection may give higher magnification but quality will be reduced. But providing you are taking images through a high grade spotting scope with a quality eyepiece , you will get excellent results

Purchase here from Northern Optics

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Optical Hardware budget 1.25″ 90 degree star diagonal

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Reviewer

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The Optical Hardware 1.25″ diagonal is an ideal low cost solution for astronomy. The 90 degree angle reduces neck strain for more comfortable views of the cosmos.

This version has a plastic body and no filter thread. But this does not mean optics have been compromised. What you do get is something that will do the job on a budget

Designed for refractors and compatible Maks. Not for Newtonian telescopes

At just £14.99 (at time of this post) it represents excellent value for money and is one of our best sellers

Purchase here from Northern Optics

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Ostara #56 green filter. Perfect for viewing polar ice caps on Mars

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Reviewer

56 filter

Colour filters are something that many astronomers will agree to disagree on with regards their effectiveness on bringing out certain features on Planets.

So I can only go on what I have seen myself through my own telescope and not what others think. In my opinion the #56 green filter is perfect for making polar ice caps on Mars stand out..When looking through my 6″ dobsonian I could only just make out what I thought was the southern polar ice caps. With the #56 green filter attached the ice caps “jumped out” and were so much more clear against the rest on the Planets disc. No whether it was enhancing the white of the caps or reducing brightness from the the red and green areas, making the white features stand out more, I am not sure. What I do know is that it had the desired effect

Available in 1.25″. Screws directly into any compatible eyepiece

Buy here from Northern Optics

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Visionary M-10 10×50 monocular. Bright image at an affordable price

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Reviewer

Visionary M10 10x50

A customer visited the Northern Optics retail outlet at the Waters` edge visitors centre looking for a quality monocular that he could keep in his pocket.

After looking at some smaller 25mm versions, he chose the Visionary M-10 10×50..A major factor was that it needed to fit in a pocket. The M-10 is too large for this, but the customer still chose it due to the case having a belt loop. Meaning he could still keep it on hand when needed..Another factor was the fact it comes with a mini tripod which doubles up as an adhoc  pistol grip.

Other main factors were the price, nitrogen waterproofing and excellent optics

From a personal point of view, this monocular with a wide 5mm exit pupil makes it ideal for wide field astronomy as well as bird watching / general use

Buy here from Northern Optics

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Ostara Elinor 10×50 binoculars. A good choice for astronomy ?

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Reviewer

ostara_elinor_10x50_binoculars

This weekend a customer came to the Northern Optics outlet at Barton Upon Humber, North Lincolnshire looking for a set of binoculars suitable for astronomy.
After testing a few 8×56, 10×50, 12×50 and 12x70s he opted for the popular Ostara Elinor 10×50.The 3 main reasons were the obvious optical quality, plus long eye relief and nitrogen waterproofing for the damp winter evenings.

Complete with a high quality soft case, lens caps and strap. Plus a 30 years warranty for peace of mind

You can purchase the stunning Ostara Elinor binoculars from Northern Optics Here

 

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Hawke Endurance PC 10×25 binoculars. As good as mid priced 42mm models ?

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Reviewer

Hawke_Binocular_Endurance_25mm_Green_PC

A customer visited the Northern Optics outlet looking for a pair of 25mm binoculars with the performance of a high quality 42mm larger set.

At first there were a couple of light hearted comments, as the customer thought they were asking for the impossible. This all changed when they picked up and looked through the superb Hawke Endurance PC 8×25 and 10×25 binoculars. They simply could not believe how bright and clear the image was, despite the small aperture and exit pupil.

We sometimes find that some customers struggle with compact double hinged binoculars. But no such issues here with our customer finding handling very easy. The model they chose was the 10×25 version, and could not wait to take them to the nearby far ings nature reserve

The Endurance 25mm models come with phase corrected BaK-4 prisms, fully multi-coated optics, nitrogen waterproofing and long eye relief..A another useful feature is that all 4 lens caps will fit on both the objective and eyepiece lenses

These are highly recommended by us, and are by far our best selling mid priced 25mm binoculars

Click here to purchase from Northern Optics

 

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Visionary M50 magnifier

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Reviewer

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Whether you are crafter, or like studying / drawing flowers and leaves in close up, plus many other uses, the Visionary Mag50 is just what you need.
Sturdy and heavy base with adjustable arms to hold everything in place.

Comes with a high quality 50mm glass magnifier.

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