astronomy insights a digital supplement to · 2 astronomy insights • november 2016 celestron...

November 2016 bull Astronomycom

Astronomy Insights A Digital Supplement to Astronomy Magazine

copy 2016 Kalmbach Publishing Co

2 ASTRONOMY INSIGHTS bull NOVEMBER 2016

Celestron delivers innovative features to meet the needs of todayrsquos visual observers and astroimagers Designed and engineered in the USA CGX is a culmination of years of engineering experience and advancements to our technologies including a better load capacity to weight ratio new drive system and remote imaging-friendly features In addition wersquove made mechanical and ergonomic improvements throughout to make the mount sturdier and easier to use and transport The all new totally redesigned CGX redefines the state of the art for todayrsquos German equatorial mounts

ALSO ANNOUNCING

+ Dual saddle plate for both small and larger style dovetail bars

+ Massive 55 lb load capacity heavy duty 2rdquo steel tripod legs with graduated markings for quick leveling

+ Mount head weighs only 44 lbs

+ Home and limit sensors with mechanical hard stops for remote operation

+ Includes sophisticated new telescope control software developed in conjunction with PlaneWave Instruments Includes multi-point goto modeling interactive star chart and additional features for remote imaging Hundreds of dollars of value

+ Integrated handles for easy transport and portability

+ Spring-loaded worm gears with belt drives provide smooth tracking while minimizing backlash for a more responsive mount

+ Internal cabling power and accessory ports do not move with mount

+ Improved ergonomics with smoother polar align adjustments

+ Tracks 20ordm past meridian on either side maximizing the best imaging time

+ Built-in All Star Polar Alignment technology

+ Supports SkyPortal WiFi and StarSense AutoAlign

+ USB port for direct PC connection with included control software

THE ALL NEW

LEARN MORE ABOUTCGEM II AT

I N N O V AT I O N R E D E S I G N E D

GERMAN EQUATOR IAL MOU NT

The handles are genius I could not have lifted the equatorial head right out of the box without them With the handles you have a solid controlled grip They make it easy to lower the CGX onto the tripod too I like the latitude adjuster very smooth and fast Azimuth was easy to adjust - Richard Berry

Find Richard Berryrsquos full review and CGX first light images HERE

ldquordquo

celestroncom

BRYAN COGDELL

WATCH NOW

From Celestronrsquos Product Development Team discusses the NEW CGX

WHEN WE EXPLORE SPACE WE DISCOVER EARTH

CPC AND CPC DX EDGEHD COMPUTERIZED TELESCOPES

DISCOVER MORE AT

Celestronrsquos 925rdquo CPC telescope is mounted aboard the

International Space Station and tasked with taking pictures

of Earth producing breathtaking images used by US agencies

and the United Nations to ldquoenhance their environmental

decision-making process in the developing worldrdquo

Whether from space or your own backyard CPC and CPC DX EDGEHD telescopes offer the best views

CPC DX EDGEHD 925 ISERV Camera Image of Golfo de Montijo Panama Photo Credit NASAISERV

+ Compatible with StarSense AutoAlign and SkyPortal WiFi Module for completely wireless alignment and control with your smart devices

+ Rock-solid dual fork arm mount with precision drive base

+ Celestronrsquos signature Schmidt-Cassegrain or EdgeHD optics in 8rdquo 925rdquo and 11rdquo apertures

+ StarBright XLT optical coatings

+ Fastar compatible

+ NexStar+ hand control with 40000+ object database

+ Heavy-duty steel tripod with accessory tray

celestroncom

Adorama ndash 8002232500 ndash wwwadoramacom Astronomics ndash 8004227876 ndash wwwastronomicscomBampH Photo ndash 8009479970 ndash wwwbhphotovideocomFocus Camera ndash 8002210828 ndash wwwfocuscameracom

High Point Scientific ndash 8002669590 ndash wwwhighpointscientificcomOPT Telescopes ndash 8004836287 ndash wwwopttelescopescomOptics Planet ndash 8005045897 ndash wwwopticsplanetcomWoodland Hills ndash 8884278766 ndash wwwtelescopesnet

CELESTRON PREMIER SELECT DEALERS


When astronomy gives you goosebumps

FOR THE LOVE OF THE SKY

Glenn ChapleAstronomy columnist and contributing editor

On an August evening in 1963 my high school friend Ray Gerbi gave me a sky tour with a small backyard scope Saturn was amazing and the Hercules Cluster (M13) and Andromeda Galaxy (M31) intriguing but it was the double star Mizar (Zeta [ζ] Ursae Majoris) that stole the show The sight of two diamond-like gems gleaming side by side in the eyepiece mesmerized me I soon purchased a telescope of my own and immediately set about observing all the double stars I could That Mizar goose-bump moment ultimately led to my current tenure at Astronomy

Stephen James OrsquoMearaAstronomy columnist and contributing editor

If the sight of blood gives you goosebumps you may appreciate how seeing the Blood Moon of June 24 1964 affected this 7-year-old child I observed that total lunar eclipse while sitting on my motherrsquos lap wrapped in a blanket

I had seen the Moon before but it never appeared so flushed The color looked so shockingly deep and intense I recall its hypnotic energy mdash being drawn to it as to the flames of a fire or to the sight of blood on my fingertip That night I saw the Moon burn like parchment its secret message going up in flames And what was that

ldquoHow did you get interested in astronomyrdquo ldquoWhat excites you about the skyrdquo These are standard questions at astronomy meetings and star parties The answers however are anything but standard They cover everything from nurturing parents and teachers to first views of some celestial wonder through a telescope

With this in mind we posed these questions to some of our longtime contributors Each was happy to send a reply As you read through their brief tales we hope they bring back happy memories about one of your astronomy goosebump moments And feel free to share with us by sending them to mbakichastronomycom Irsquoll compile them into a future online feature

Mizar

ESO

ON

LIN

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IZED

SK

Y SU

RVEY

Sometimes our hobby is so cool

it gives you the chills by Michael E Bakich

TON

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message Well Irsquom still looking skyward searching for the answer

Jackie BeucherSecretary of the Astronomical League

As a member of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City I have done a fair amount of outreach over the years One venue was at the local City Community Center giving an astronomy class and telescope viewing for their ldquoOver 55rdquo members

The first night we had a lively session in the classroom mdash lots of oohs and aahs and many questions But alas we were clouded out so I kept the telescope in the car

The next week it was clear so after I conducted a short classroom session we

headed outside Saturn was overhead and details in the rings and clouds were easy to see One lady named Edith told me she was finally going to learn about the uni-verse She was so sweet and calm and thanked me for being there

Soon it was her turn at the eyepiece She leaned over and peered in quietly looking

for the longest time I asked ldquoEdith are you OK Can you see Saturnrdquo She looked up at me and tears were streaming down her face ldquoI never thought I would ever see such a beautiful sightrdquo Tears were streaming down my face too Writing this brings them on again It is so worthwhile to share our love for the night sky

Saturn

DA

MIA

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EACH


Bob BermanAstronomy columnist and contributing editor

Irsquove had many astronomy goosebump moments but Irsquoll pick a few quick ones from when I was a kid

The first involved the constellation Orion when I was 14 years old It had van-ished the previous spring and the first sight of it in the east upon its initial October return was accompanied by an ineffable wonder and joy A few years later as a col-lege student on spring break in Florida I again marveled at it thrilled to see it hover in a new location in the heavens

In 1968 I was backpacking in the desert of eastern Iran The number of stars in that pure sky exhilarated me as if I were in outer space Then two years later I saw my first total solar eclipse March 7 1970 The time during totality counted as the most wondrous minutes of my life

Adam BlockAstronomy columnist and expert astroimager

Astronomy has enthralled me since I was 4 I remember looking through my 8-inch Celestron under the then dark skies of Villa Rica Georgia and seeing for the first time the billowing clouds of the Orion Nebula (M42) instead of the light fuzzy fog I was accustomed to from my driveway in Atlanta

I also saw the winter Milky Way as a youth in the Southeast but never the sum-mer stars It wasnrsquot until I attended the Uni-versity of Arizona that I saw what until then were only pictures in books and maga-zines mdash the magnificent star clouds of the summer Milky Way

Fast forward yet another decade and I would be beneath those star clouds again at

Kitt Peak National Observatory beginning my career in public outreach and astropho-tography At the age of 7 I pointed at a pic-ture of Kitt Peak as published in Odyssey and I told my mother with all the confi-dence I could muster that I was going to be an astronomer and I was going to work there Later in life reflecting on these moments gets me as close to believing in destiny as I dare

Mike ReynoldsDean of Liberal Arts amp Sciences Florida State College at Jacksonville and Astronomy contributing editor

I was 12 years old and had an interest in astronomy My parents mdash a bit leery of this weird kid of theirs mdash told me of an article in the local paper describing the upcoming Leonid meteor shower November 17 1966 I asked them if I could get up and go out to see the falling stars they reluctantly agreed

What I saw mdash the start of the great 1966 Leonid meteor storm mdash turned a 12-year-old into a passionate astronomer to the point that ever since I have wanted to share our universe with others through my col-lege astronomy classes and outreach events

Terry MannAstroimager

It was my first trip to the Very Large Array in Socorro New Mexico and I wanted to take some night shots I watched the Moon set and then set up my cameras The Milky Way was glowing overhead stretching from horizon to horizon I stood alone in the night and gazed up at that incredible view

After a few minutes spent in silence I could hear what sounded like metal grind-ing the arrayrsquos dishes were moving Then out of the darkness I heard a loud ldquomoordquo That cow kept me company all night and those dark skies and bright stars keep call-ing me back Sometimes the words do not do the feeling justice

Phil HarringtonAstronomy contributing editor

Friday April 12 1968 dawned like most other days I was looking forward to the weekend after what had been at least through the eyes of a 12-year-old another trying week of school All this was about to change as I entered my sixth-grade science class that day My teacher Mr Clark had a weekend homework assignment posted on the blackboard That night he told us there was going to be a total eclipse of the Moon He wanted us to watch it from our homes and write down our observations to hand in as a report on Monday Just my luck I thought

I set up a card table and lawn chair and brought out small binoculars Slowly over the next several hours Earthrsquos shadow silently devoured the Moon turning it a deep-orange color around the middle of the eclipse I became so engrossed with the eclipse that I watched it in an almost hyp-notic trance And that did it Irsquove been hooked on the sky ever since

Dennis MammanaSky photographer

In March 2000 a buddy and I flew to Fair-banks Alaska to photograph the aurora borealis After several nights of standing awestruck under these ethereal dancing curtains of color mdash goosebump moments all mdash we met up with a renowned aurora photographer and asked one simple ques-tion ldquoOn a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate the weekrsquos displaysrdquo His answer ldquoAbout 4rdquo More goosebumps

In unison my buddy and I looked at each other and exclaimed ldquoOh ya wersquore coming backrdquo And 2015 will mark my 23rd trip to the arctic in pursuit of naturersquos greatest light show

Orion Lunar eclipse sequence

The Very Large Array

BILL

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ETCH

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BEN

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KRIS

TAL

ARM

END

ARI

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Michael E Bakichrsquos best friends all have a sense of wonder related to astronomy

W W WASTRONOMYCOM 9

Don GoldmanOwner of Astrodon

My goosebump moment was discovering the power of CCD imaging after spending some time trying to observe the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) from my light-polluted sub-urban location There wasnrsquot much to see I soon learned however that with minimal equipment and a simple monochrome CCD camera I was able to capture the cores of M51 and its companion along with consid-erable detail mdash from my backyard I be-came hooked on CCD imaging that day about a dozen years ago and never stopped

Tony HallasExpert astroimager and Astronomy contributing editor

Dial back about 30 years Irsquom a surfer living on Ventura Point in California One day Irsquom shopping in a local photo store and the place has an 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on sale Telescopes had always intrigued me so I bought it to check out the surf across the bay

One night Irsquom on my terrace and I look up A strange yellowish star is poking through the Ventura sky glow I had this telescope which was meant to look at the stars so I set it up and spent the next 20 minutes just trying to get the yellow star into my eyepiece Suddenly it popped into view mdash it was Saturn

It wasnrsquot big but I could see the rings It was like the proverbial bolt of lightning hit-ting me on the head For the first time I realized that a mere mortal a Joe Anybody could look through a telescope and see won-ders like this Not in a magazine not at some observatory on top of a mountain right here in the eyepiece of this small telescope

From that realization was born my love of and continuing fascination with amateur astronomy My scopes have gotten larger and I have explored astroimaging but it all goes back to that hair-raising realization that anyone could explore the heavens

Erika RixAstronomy columnist and astrosketcher

Irsquove had a few goosebump moments but two stand out In grade school my teacher carried a large box while leading our class to the gymnasium We had no idea what was in store when she pulled the stage cur-tains together turned off the lights and turned on a flashlight

For the remainder of the class we sat in a circle while she explained the solar system

to us The flashlight became the Sun and the model planets seemed to float around it She instilled a sense of wonderment and adventure on that stage that sparked my interest in astronomy

The second led me to astronomical sketching I enjoy photography but found astroimaging stressful unlike the peaceful-ness I experience as a visual observer And there just seemed to be something lacking by simply taking notes

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that sketching was still going strong With encouragement from others I made my first eyepiece sketch in 2005

To this day I rarely observe without my sketching gear I feel a wonderful combina-tion of relaxation and fulfillment while studying the views

Anthony AyiomamitisExpert astroimager

I suspect that NASArsquos efforts to land a man on the Moon through the 1960s captivated many youth of my generation The Apollo 11 mission in particular was the spark that fired my love for astronomy

In the 1970s the Viking missions to Mars and the two Voyager probes would add fuel to the fire During the past 15

years the Hubble Space Telescope has aug-mented my awe of the universe because of the many questions it has answered and the new questions it has raised as we seek greater understanding

I can think of no greater celestial play-pen than the cosmos particularly for an astroimager who now seeks his own mis-sions each time a dark sky becomes avail-able to him

Raymond ShubinskiAstronomy contributing editor

On a beautiful spring night long ago I found myself entombed in the spectrograph room under the 21-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory I had been watching star images dance on a monitor for hours and needed fresh air I left the claustrophobic room and climbed the stairs to the main floor of the observatory

The domersquos shutter was fully open and the cool night air began to revive me Someone had Bach playing over the sound system and I could see the swath of the Milky Way through the open dome The river of stars looked like millions of dia-monds scattered across black velvet I was rooted to the spot entranced I knew then why I so love the night sky

The Milky Way

MIG

UEL

CLA

RO

DISCOVER MORE AT

celestroncom

FOR A FEW MOMENTS IN 1969 humanity collectively witnessed one of the greatest achievements in human history on live TV the Apollo 11 Moon landing Almost 50 years later and only our satellites and rovers have gone back Now you can connect to the night sky with Celestronrsquos latest WiFi telescope technology and share your own view of the Moon with todayrsquos generation

FREE SkyPortal Mobile Planetarium

+ Redefine how you experience astronomy Hold your smart device up to the night sky and instantly identify stars planets galaxies and much more with visuals object info and audio commentary

+ View a custom list of all the best celestial objects to view based on your time date and location

WATCH OUR

MOON MEMORIES VIDEOand share your favorite Moon memories from the days of Apollo or anytime since

Join the conversation at wwwfacebookcomcelestron

Discover more about our innovative wireless telescopes at

celestroncom

Astro Fi 130 mm Newtonian Telescope

NexStar Evolution 8 HD Telescope

EXPLORE THE SKY IN WIFI WITH CELESTRONrsquoS NEWEST INNOVATIVE LINE ASTRO FI

Simply connect Astro Fi to the free SkyPortal planetarium app from Celestron align the telescope by centering any three bright stars in the eyepiece and yoursquoll be controlling your telescope in minutes with your iOS or Android smart device

W W WASTRONOMYCOM 7

Gather together family and friends under the stars this holiday season with instant savings on CPC and NexStar SE telescopes Apertures to suit every lifestyle with rock solid construction and todayrsquos latest innovations that wow beginners and experienced observers alike

Nexstar 8SE CPC 1100

FEATURES+ Packed with must have features like StarBright

XLT optical coatings SkyAlign technology and sturdy steel tripod construction

+ Fully automated GoTo mount with 40000+ celestial object database locates and tracks objects for you

+ Get wireless with Celestronrsquos smartest accessories Pair the SkyPortal WiFi module with the free SkyPortal app on iOS and Android for full telescope control via your smart device Add the StarSense AutoAlign accessory for automatic alignment in 3 minutes or less

+ PowerTank Lithium powers your telescope all night off a single charge with USB out ports to charge your personal electronics

+ Art and science collide Explore the world of astroimaging with NexImage and Skyris cameras and capture your own images of the Moon planets and the brightest deep space objects

ACCESSORY SOLD SEPARATELY

INSTANT SAVINGS up to $200 on the ever-popular NexStar SE series and the dual-fork CPC telescope series through December 31 2016 Visit celestroncomse-rebate for offer details

StarSense AutoAlign

SkyPortal WiFi Module

PowerTank Lithium




celestroncomDISCOVER MORE AT

Unfettered by tales of science fiction the cosmos is almost incomprehensibly large by David J Eicher

THE COSMIC

DISTANCE SCALE



itrsquos absolutely amazing to know that shortly after the Big Bang the universe was a relatively small nearly infinitely dense place It boggles the mind But that was 138 billion years ago The expanding universe means the entirety of what we know is now incredibly large mdash and is getting more immense every day

This is one area that two generations of science-fiction movies have seriously distorted in the minds of the public The general feeling that technology is pretty good and will know almost no bounds and that we can almost certainly one day travel between star systems is pretty much taken on faith

But what the sci-fi movies have failed to communicate among other things is that the universe is an immensely large place Even distances between the nearest objects are staggering and the distances across the Milky Way Galaxy and certainly between galaxies in the universe are astonishingly huge to living beings stuck on a planet A model of the Milky Way wherein the Sun is a grain of sand brings this home On this scale stars mdash sand grains mdash are 4 miles (6 kilometers) apart in the Milky Wayrsquos disk and the disk is about 40000 miles (60000km) across Now who wants to go traveling from grain to grain

The concept of the size of the universe has taken a huge stride forward in just the last few years There was a time not too long ago when astronomers did not know even the approximate size of the cosmos with any degree of accuracy We still donrsquot know with high precision

Incredible expansionThe Big Bang theory tells us that once the universe was very small We know the fast-est that radiation or any information can travel is the speed of light 186000 miles per second (300000 kms) Wersquore confident that the universe is 138 billion years old We also know that a light-year is equal to approximately 6 trillion miles (94 trillion km) In nearly 14 billion years on first blush we might expect radiation to expand radially outward to something like 30 bil-lion light-years across

But remember that the Big Bang was not like an explosion that went off in a room Following the Big Bang space-time itself expanded radially outward at all points meaning all of space expanded too not just the stuff within it (The term space-time refers to the mathematical model that com-bines space and time into a single interwo-ven medium)

As the expansion of the universe began just 1 centimeter of ldquoempty spacerdquo inter-stitially became 2 centimeters over time and so on So the best ideas about the size of the universe allowing for its expansion over time point to a radius of slightly more than 46 billion light-years and therefore a

diameter for the universe of approximately 93 billion light-years

But therersquos a major proviso to this result That diameter refers to the visible universe we can see from Earth Inflation theory if correct mdash and it has widespread support among cosmologists mdash suggests the portion of the universe we can see is by no means the entire cosmos Some cosmologists pro-pose that the universe is infinite But letrsquos work with what we really have and say the cosmos at least the part that we can observe is about 93 billion light-years across

A thorough understanding of our neighborhood our solar system our area of the Milky Way our galaxy and so on is

David J Eicher is editor of Astronomy maga-zine He has marveled at the cosmic distance scale since the mid-1970s

M74

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W W WASTRONOMYCOM 13

critical to comprehending how the universe works And exploring the cosmic distance scale also unveils a slew of interesting objects astronomers use to determine dis-tances to objects near and far

The seeds of measuring the universe stretch back in time all the way to the Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos (ca 310ndash230 bc) who had correct notions of parallax in mind with regard to dis-tances of the Sun and Moon Parallax is the technique of measuring the offset of nearer bodies to the distant background of stars and geometrically calculating a distance

Little progress took place after Aristarchus until Polish astronomer

Nicolas Copernicus (1473ndash1543) proposed the heliocentric model of the cosmos and it was one of the last great visual astrono-mers Danish nobleman Tycho Brahe (1546ndash1601) who made the first paral-lax measurements of comets and helped define a more modern distance scale to nearby objects

Starting close to homeLetrsquos pause for a moment to appreciate the physical scale of just our solar system mdash only the Sun its attendant planets and debris and our little island of life inside it To envision our immediate vicinity a little better in your mind imagine a scale solar system with the Sun on one end and 1 cen-timeter representing the distance between our star and Earth called an astronomical unit (AU) That is 1 AU = 1 centimeter You actually can draw this out on paper to help crystallize it in your mind Tape sev-eral sheets of paper together and have at it With the Sun at one end Earth is 1 centi-meter away and Mercury and Venus are in there too at 04 centimeter and 07 centime-ter respectively Outward from Earth we have Mars at 15 centimeters the main-belt asteroids centered around 25 centimeters Jupiter at 5 centimeters Saturn at 95 cen-timeters Uranus at 19 centimeters and Neptune at 30 centimeters Pluto can be placed at 40 centimeters

The outer solar system is sparse con-sisting of the Kuiper Belt region from 30 to 50 centimeters from the Sun and you can even indicate some of the more interesting

objects in the area to keep Pluto company mdash Haumea at 40 centimeters Makemake at 45 centimeters and Eris at 60 centime-ters Now you can finish by indicating the region of the scattered disk a sparse body of energetically ldquospun uprdquo icy asteroids between 50 and 100 centimeters from the Sun This gives you a complete scale model of the solar system in a region spanning 1 meter or 3 feet across

Now appreciate that on this scale the inner edge of the Oort Cloud the vast halo of 2 trillion comets on the solar systemrsquos perimeter is 100 meters (109 yards more than an American football field) farther away than the edge of your diagram The outer edge of the Oort Cloud on this scale is 1000 meters (06 mile more than 10 football fields) away

Yet as human astronaut-explorers we only have traveled as far away as the Moon about 1389 AU or on our scale 1389 centi-meter from Earth which on this scale is about the size of a human red blood cell That distance is imperceptibly close to our planetrsquos ldquodotrdquo on our scale drawing

And yet the distances to the nearest stars are larger than our imagined scale of the Oort Cloud And then come perhaps 400 billion stars scattered across the bright disk of our Milky Way Galaxy 150000 light-years across and a hundred billion more galaxies spread across a vast cosmos

The next time yoursquore out under the stars look up and think carefully about the enormity of the universe It is one of the great humbling feelings of humanity

THE NEW COSMOS ANSWERING ASTRONOMYrsquoS

BIG QUESTIONSThis story is an excerpt from David J Eicherrsquos new book The New Cosmos (300 pp hardcover Cambridge University Press New York with 100000 words of text and 100 color illustrations foreword by Alex Filippenko ISBN 978-1107068858) The book is available at book-stores and online retailers

The New Cosmos seeks to fill a major gap in the story of astronomy planetary science and cosmology Over the past decade astronomers plan-etary scientists and cosmolo-gists have answered mdash or

are closing in on the answers to mdash some of the biggest questions about the universe Eicher presents an exploration of the cosmos that provides a balanced and precise view of the latest discoveries

Detailed and entertain-ing narratives on compelling topics such as how the Sun will die the end of life on Earth why Venus turned itself inside-out the Big Bang the-ory the mysteries of dark mat-ter and dark energy and the meaning of life in the universe are supported by numerous color illustrations including

photos maps and explana-tory diagrams In each chap-ter the author sets out the scientific history of a specific question or problem before tracing the modern observa-tions and evidence in order to solve it This fall you can join Eicher on this fascinating jour-ney through the cosmos

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LTEC

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Celestron delivers innovative features to meet the needs of todayrsquos visual observers and astroimagers Designed and engineered in the USA CGX is a culmination of years of engineering experience and advancements to our technologies including a better load capacity to weight ratio new drive system and remote imaging-friendly features In addition wersquove made mechanical and ergonomic improvements throughout to make the mount sturdier and easier to use and transport The all new totally redesigned CGX redefines the state of the art for todayrsquos German equatorial mounts

ALSO ANNOUNCING

+ Dual saddle plate for both small and larger style dovetail bars

+ Massive 55 lb load capacity heavy duty 2rdquo steel tripod legs with graduated markings for quick leveling

+ Mount head weighs only 44 lbs

+ Home and limit sensors with mechanical hard stops for remote operation

+ Includes sophisticated new telescope control software developed in conjunction with PlaneWave Instruments Includes multi-point goto modeling interactive star chart and additional features for remote imaging Hundreds of dollars of value

+ Integrated handles for easy transport and portability

+ Spring-loaded worm gears with belt drives provide smooth tracking while minimizing backlash for a more responsive mount

+ Internal cabling power and accessory ports do not move with mount

+ Improved ergonomics with smoother polar align adjustments

+ Tracks 20ordm past meridian on either side maximizing the best imaging time

+ Built-in All Star Polar Alignment technology

+ Supports SkyPortal WiFi and StarSense AutoAlign

+ USB port for direct PC connection with included control software

THE ALL NEW

LEARN MORE ABOUTCGEM II AT

I N N O V AT I O N R E D E S I G N E D

GERMAN EQUATOR IAL MOU NT

The handles are genius I could not have lifted the equatorial head right out of the box without them With the handles you have a solid controlled grip They make it easy to lower the CGX onto the tripod too I like the latitude adjuster very smooth and fast Azimuth was easy to adjust - Richard Berry

Find Richard Berryrsquos full review and CGX first light images HERE

ldquordquo

celestroncom

BRYAN COGDELL

WATCH NOW

From Celestronrsquos Product Development Team discusses the NEW CGX



DISCOVER MORE AT












+ Fastar compatible



celestroncom














Mizar

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Saturn

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W W WASTRONOMYCOM 9























The Milky Way

MIG

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DISCOVER MORE AT

celestroncom





WATCH OUR




celestroncom





W W WASTRONOMYCOM 7











StarSense AutoAlign


PowerTank Lithium






THE COSMIC

DISTANCE SCALE














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H)



DISCOVER MORE AT












+ Fastar compatible



celestroncom














Mizar

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LIN

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IGIT

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TON

Y BE

REN

DSE

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W W WASTRONOMYCOM 5










Saturn

DA

MIA

N P

EACH

























BILL

AN

D S

ALL

Y FL

ETCH

ER

BEN

CO

OPE

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NRA

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UI

KRIS

TAL

ARM

END

ARI

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W W WASTRONOMYCOM 9























The Milky Way

MIG

UEL

CLA

RO

DISCOVER MORE AT

celestroncom





WATCH OUR




celestroncom





W W WASTRONOMYCOM 7











StarSense AutoAlign


PowerTank Lithium






THE COSMIC

DISTANCE SCALE














M74

NA

SAE

SAT

HE

HU

BBLE

HER

ITA

GE

TEA

M (S

TScI

AU

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PREV

IOU

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SD

SS J1

004+

4112

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NA

SAK

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ARO

N (T

EL A

VIV

UN

IV)

E O

FEK

(CA

LTEC

H)











Mizar

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TON

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REN

DSE

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W W WASTRONOMYCOM 5










Saturn

DA

MIA

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BILL

AN

D S

ALL

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BEN

CO

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R

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W W WASTRONOMYCOM 9























The Milky Way

MIG

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DISCOVER MORE AT

celestroncom





WATCH OUR




celestroncom





W W WASTRONOMYCOM 7











StarSense AutoAlign


PowerTank Lithium






THE COSMIC

DISTANCE SCALE














M74

NA

SAE

SAT

HE

HU

BBLE

HER

ITA

GE

TEA

M (S

TScI

AU

RA)-

ESA

HU

BBLE

CO

LLA

BORA

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N



















PREV

IOU

S PA

GE

SD

SS J1

004+

4112

ESA

NA

SAK

SH

ARO

N (T

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UN

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FEK

(CA

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H)

W W WASTRONOMYCOM 5










Saturn

DA

MIA

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BILL

AN

D S

ALL

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CO

OPE

R

NRA

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UI

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TAL

ARM

END

ARI

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W W WASTRONOMYCOM 9























The Milky Way

MIG

UEL

CLA

RO

DISCOVER MORE AT

celestroncom





WATCH OUR




celestroncom





W W WASTRONOMYCOM 7











StarSense AutoAlign


PowerTank Lithium






THE COSMIC

DISTANCE SCALE














M74

NA

SAE

SAT

HE

HU

BBLE

HER

ITA

GE

TEA

M (S

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RA)-

ESA

HU

BBLE

CO

LLA

BORA

TIO

N



















PREV

IOU

S PA

GE

SD

SS J1

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ESA

NA

SAK

SH

ARO

N (T

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IV)

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FEK

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H)

























BILL

AN

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CO

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W W WASTRONOMYCOM 9























The Milky Way

MIG

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DISCOVER MORE AT

celestroncom





WATCH OUR




celestroncom





W W WASTRONOMYCOM 7











StarSense AutoAlign


PowerTank Lithium






THE COSMIC

DISTANCE SCALE














M74

NA

SAE

SAT

HE

HU

BBLE

HER

ITA

GE

TEA

M (S

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RA)-

ESA

HU

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CO

LLA

BORA

TIO

N



















PREV

IOU

S PA

GE

SD

SS J1

004+

4112

ESA

NA

SAK

SH

ARO

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EL A

VIV

UN

IV)

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FEK

(CA

LTEC

H)

W W WASTRONOMYCOM 9























The Milky Way

MIG

UEL

CLA

RO

DISCOVER MORE AT

celestroncom





WATCH OUR




celestroncom





W W WASTRONOMYCOM 7











StarSense AutoAlign


PowerTank Lithium






THE COSMIC

DISTANCE SCALE














M74

NA

SAE

SAT

HE

HU

BBLE

HER

ITA

GE

TEA

M (S

TScI

AU

RA)-

ESA

HU

BBLE

CO

LLA

BORA

TIO

N



















PREV

IOU

S PA

GE

SD

SS J1

004+

4112

ESA

NA

SAK

SH

ARO

N (T

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VIV

UN

IV)

E O

FEK

(CA

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H)

DISCOVER MORE AT

celestroncom





WATCH OUR




celestroncom





W W WASTRONOMYCOM 7











StarSense AutoAlign


PowerTank Lithium






THE COSMIC

DISTANCE SCALE














M74

NA

SAE

SAT

HE

HU

BBLE

HER

ITA

GE

TEA

M (S

TScI

AU

RA)-

ESA

HU

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CO

LLA

BORA

TIO

N



















PREV

IOU

S PA

GE

SD

SS J1

004+

4112

ESA

NA

SAK

SH

ARO

N (T

EL A

VIV

UN

IV)

E O

FEK

(CA

LTEC

H)

W W WASTRONOMYCOM 7











StarSense AutoAlign


PowerTank Lithium






THE COSMIC

DISTANCE SCALE














M74

NA

SAE

SAT

HE

HU

BBLE

HER

ITA

GE

TEA

M (S

TScI

AU

RA)-

ESA

HU

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CO

LLA

BORA

TIO

N



















PREV

IOU

S PA

GE

SD

SS J1

004+

4112

ESA

NA

SAK

SH

ARO

N (T

EL A

VIV

UN

IV)

E O

FEK

(CA

LTEC

H)


THE COSMIC

DISTANCE SCALE














M74

NA

SAE

SAT

HE

HU

BBLE

HER

ITA

GE

TEA

M (S

TScI

AU

RA)-

ESA

HU

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CO

LLA

BORA

TIO

N



















PREV

IOU

S PA

GE

SD

SS J1

004+

4112

ESA

NA

SAK

SH

ARO

N (T

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VIV

UN

IV)

E O

FEK

(CA

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H)













M74

NA

SAE

SAT

HE

HU

BBLE

HER

ITA

GE

TEA

M (S

TScI

AU

RA)-

ESA

HU

BBLE

CO

LLA

BORA

TIO

N



















PREV

IOU

S PA

GE

SD

SS J1

004+

4112

ESA

NA

SAK

SH

ARO

N (T

EL A

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UN

IV)

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FEK

(CA

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H)



















PREV

IOU

S PA

GE

SD

SS J1

004+

4112

ESA

NA

SAK

SH

ARO

N (T

EL A

VIV

UN

IV)

E O

FEK

(CA

LTEC

H)

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