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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New Wide-Field Remote Telescopes Added

Insight Observatory is excited to announce the addition of two new affiliate remote telescopes to its growing network! These remote imaging systems are both wide-field configurations provided by Insight Observatory's affiliate partner, Lukas Demetz from the SkyGems Observatories Network. Both configurations are close to being identical, with the exception of the imaging camera. Both are Officina Stellare Veloce 200 AT, with focal lengths of 600mm and a focal ratio of f/3.

The designations of these two additions to Insight Observatory's remote telescope network are AFIL-5, located in Hakos, Namibia, and AFIL-6 hosted at AstroCamp in Nerpio, Spain.

IC 434 or Barnard 33 - The Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion imaged on the Veloce 200 AT f/3 (AFIL-5) from Hakos, Namibia. Image processed by Utkarsh Mishra. Luminance 10 x 5 min. Red, Green, and Blue each 5 x 5 min.

These new additions can be accessed on Insight Observatory's online Personal Image Request (PIR) application for ONLY $25.00 for a 20-minute LRGB color or monochrome processed image. The raw image files are also available upon request if selected on the PIR.

Proceeds from PIR image purchases go towards supporting Insight Observatory's educational outreach efforts.

Veloce 200 AT wide-field affiliate remote telescope additions AFIL-5 located in Hakos, Namibia (left) and AFIL-6 hosted at AstroCamp in Nerpio, Spain (right).

Specifications of the AFIL-5 Veloce 200 AT Imaging System - Hakos, Namibia:

• Officina Stellare Veloce 200 AT
• Focal length 600 mm (24'') - Focal ratio f/3
• ASA DDM60 mount
• QHY 600M CCD
• Filters: LRGB, Ha7 OIII SII

Specifications of the AFIL-6 Veloce 200 AT Imaging System - Nerpio, Spain:

• Officina Stellare Veloce 200 AT
• Focal length 600 mm (24'') - Focal ratio f/3
• ASA DDM60 mount
• SBIG STF-8300M CCD
• Filters: LRGB, Ha7, OIII, SII

Access Telescopes

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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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