Starbase Subscription Rates Reduced!

Insight Observatory has significantly reduced its subscription rates for Starbase, Insight Observatory's image set repository. ALL image sets regardless of what imaging system was used are now ONLY $0.05 USD (cents) per imaging minute for Standard subscribers and $0.04 USD (cents) per imaging minute for Educational subscribers.

IC 434 - The Horsehead Nebula in Orion processed with free image data available for download on Insight Observatory's image set repository, Starbase. Imaged on ATEO-1 and processed by Daniel Nobre.

Starbase subscription proceeds go toward funding Insight Observatory's educational outreach efforts. Log into Starbase now with your ATEO Portal credentials and you will be able to download an image set of IC 434, The Horsehead Nebula imaged on Insight Observatory's Astronomical Telescope for Educational Outreach, ATEO-1.

ATEO-1 with processed image data of M81 and M2 Galaxies in Ursa Major processed by Daniel Nobre and M63 - The Sunflower Galaxy in Canes Venatici processed by Utkarsh Mishra.

ATEO-1 is Insight's 16" f/3.75 Dream Aerospace Systems astrograph reflector remote telescope hosted at SkyPi Remote Observatory in the dark skies of New Mexico, USA.

ATEO-2A with processed image data of M17 - The Omega Nebula in Sagittarius, and M33 - The Triangulum Galaxy in Triangulum. Image data processed by Utkarsh Mishra. 

Other image sets available in Starbase were imaged on our affiliate remote systems, ATEO-2A, a 5" f/5.8 Williams Optics APO refractor located in New Mexico along with image sets acquired from ATEO-3, our affiliate remote telescope hosted at Deep Sky Chile located in the Rio Hurtado Valley, Chile.

ATEO-3 with processed image data of NGC 2070 - The Tarantula Nebula in Dorado (Large Magellanic Cloud) processed by Daniel Nobre, and NGC 253 - The Sculptor Galaxy in Sculptor processed by Utkarsh Mishra.

Learn more about Starbase or access Starbase here with your ATEO Portal login credentials to download your free IC 434 - Horsehead Nebula image set. New image sets are added to Starbase monthly and include calibration files.

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What's In The Sky - December 2019

December brings cold winter nights and some of the clearest skies of the year for many locations. Bundle up to keep warm and get outside for some holiday stargazing fun with equipment and accessories from Orion Telescopes and Binoculars!

Star Party Time

Thanks to the New Moon of December 26th, skies will be dark enough for nice views of distant deep-sky objects with a telescope, making it a great night for a holiday star party. Check out open cluster M45 (Pleiades), the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and the many gems within our namesake constellation Orion, including M42 the Orion Nebula, emission nebula M78, and the large emission patch NGC 2174/2175 also known as the Monkey Head nebula. If you have a 10" or larger aperture telescope with a Hydrogen-beta filter, take advantage of the New Moon to go after views of the elusive Horsehead Nebula located near Alnitak - the easternmost star of Orion's easily recognizable belt.

IC 434 or Barnard 33 - The Horsehead Nebula imaged on ATEO-1. Image processed by Muir Evenden.

Geminids Meteors

One of the most famous meteor showers, the Geminids, will be most active on December 14th. This impressive shower is known to produce up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak. This year, the 4-day-old moon will be rather bright, causing some interference at peak. While this shower can produce meteors nightly from December 4th through the 17th, the best chance to see a high concentration of meteors will be on the night of December 14th.

Best Binocular Targets 

While 50mm binoculars are good for December stargazing, bigger 70mm, 80mm, or larger binos will reveal brighter and better views of celestial gems, of which there are plenty to enjoy in December skies. The glorious open star cluster M45, also known as the Pleiades, will be nearly overhead in the constellation Perseus. A little more north and overhead you'll find the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), which really shines in big binoculars. Slightly to the northwest of M31, you'll see the beautiful Double Cluster of Perseus.

NGC 253 - The Sculptor or "Silver Dollar" Galaxy imaged on ATEO-3. Image processed by Franck Jobard.

Best Telescope Targets 

All of the binocular targets listed above also make great telescope quarry, but December skies offer great opportunities to see objects that require a telescope too. First, slew your scope just a few degrees southwest of M31 to find M33, a distant face-on spiral galaxy that's about 2.5 million light-years (MLY) away from Earth. In the constellation Sculptor far to the south, try to find NGC 253, the impressive "silver dollar" galaxy. There's a swarm of other galaxies to see in the general area of NGC 253 - all part of the "Sculptor Group" of galaxies. Use a star chart or the Orion StarSeek app and hunt them down! In Pisces, look for M74, another face-on spiral galaxy like M33, but one that is almost 30 MLY farther away from us. Finally, check out NGC 1300, a classic barred spiral galaxy that is approximately 61 MLY away from Earth with a monster black-hole in its nucleus.

December Challenge

With a 10" or larger telescope from a dark sky site, try to track down the picturesque Horsehead Nebula near the eastern star of Orion's belt, which is named Alnitak. Using an Orion H-Beta Nebula Filter will improve your chances of seeing this faint absorption nebula.

All objects described above can easily be seen with the suggested equipment from a dark sky site, a viewing location some distance away from city lights where light pollution and when bright moonlight does not overpower the stars.

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What's In The Sky - October 2019

October nights will be full of celestial treats to see with binoculars and telescopes. Here are some of Orion Telescope and Binoculars' top October stargazing and observing suggestions.

The Sculptor Galaxy, also known as the NGC 253, is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. Imaged on ATEO-1 by Insight Observatory.

The Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253)

Around midnight local time on October 3rd, the Sculptor galaxy (NGC 253) will be well-positioned for viewing as it will be at the highest point in the sky. Cataloged as both H V.1 and Bennett 4, this 7th magnitude beauty is also known as Caldwell 65, and due to both its brightness and oblique angle is often called the "Silver Dollar Galaxy."

New Moon

For the best conditions to see galaxies, nebulas, and other deep-sky objects, plan a stargazing session for the night of October 27th, when the New Moon will provide dark skies. This is the best night of the month to observe the night sky since light from stars and faint deep sky objects won't have to compete with bright moonlight.

Orionids Meteor Shower

As Orion rises on October 21st around midnight, you can feast your eyes on the peak of the Orionid meteor shower. Around 15 meteors per hour are expected at the peak, but the shower will be active from October 2nd to November 7th.

The Pacman Nebula, also known as the NGC 281, is a bright emission nebula and part of an H II region in the constellation of Cassiopeia. Imaged on ATEO-1 by Insight Observatory.

A Challenging Nebula

Making a small equilateral triangle with the stars Eta and Alpha Cassiopeiae is the elusive Pac Man Nebula, NGC 281. The Pac-Man is a famous target for astrophotographers, but it's not very easy to observe visually. From dark sky locations, you can pick out its faint glow with large binoculars, but a telescope at low power with the help of an Oxygen-III filter will show it best.

All objects described above can easily be seen with the suggested equipment from a dark sky site, a viewing location some distance away from city lights where light pollution and when bright moonlight does not overpower the stars.

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