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If you purchased a telescope from us for the 2025 Summer of the Planets, welcome to the BINTEL family! While Mars and Jupiter are still putting on a show in the evening sky, remember these delights are only a small part of what you can discover with a telescope.  (Make sure you catch up Part 1 of this series where we chatted about misty patches of the sky called nebulae where stars are being formed. ) Other fascinating types of deep-sky object that many have heard of are star clusters. These are groups of stars common throughout galaxies like our own Milky Way.  One type, globular clusters, are some of the most fascinating objects in the night sky, as well as being spectacular deep-sky targets for telescopes of all sizes. These are definitely in the "wow" category for new astronomers and even the most experienced get a thrill from looking at them. Globular Cluster NGC 6752, first observed by James Dunlap from Parramatta in 1826 Stars in clusters are gravitationally bound to each other as they move through interstellar space. There are a few "varieties". (We'll cover open clusters in the next article and touch on how most stars in are binary or even multi star systems. Our Sun moving through the Milky Way on its own is a bit of an oddity.)  Open clusters are comparatively young in galactic terms, in comparison to globular clusters which are ancient. Found in mainly in the halos around the outskirts of galaxies, they are made up of vast numbers of stars, sometimes into the millions, which means they're held together so tightly they've been able to hang around for the life of their host galaxy and sometimes even longer. When observed through a telescope, globular clusters appear as a sparkly ball of stars, so closely bound, they seem to be touching each other.  The first deep-sky object to be identified as a globular cluster was M22 or NGC 6652, in 1655. This is in the constellation of Sagittarius. This contains more than 83,000 stars and weighs about as much 500,000 times the weight of the Sun. We're lucky in the southern hemisphere to have in our skies some of the brightest and largest globular clusters in the Milky Way. The most famous of these is Omega Centauri. This appears to our eyes as a faint star, although it's a bit "fuzzy".  Omega Centauri was known to ancient peoples and catalogued as a "star" but wasn't known as anything of major interest until it was observed through early telescopes in the 17th century. Even with these primitive instruments, it was quickly found to be unlike any other star in the night sky. Instead of being a single point of light, it was revealed to be an uncountable number of individual stars. The second brightest globular cluster is known as 47 Tucanae or 47 Tuc to its friends. It's around 15,000 light years from us   Where to find 47 Tuc from Sydney on the 5th of March around 9.00pm. To help get your bearings, Hada and Alpha Centauri are the pointers to the Southern Cross This is positioned in the far south of the sky near the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) although not located in that nearby galaxy. It's very much a Milky Way local. This is a stunning astro object to view in telescopes of all sizes. It will show as a ball of tightly packed stars in a smaller telescope like the Celestron StarSense Explore LT70 AZ. As the telescope size and power increases in telescopes such as a saxon Dobsonian, more and more stars can be made out.  47 Tuc is home to millions stars and is about 120 light years across. It's over 13 billion years old, which is almost as old as the Milky Way itself. Under a dark sky, it appears as almost the same diameter as the Full Moon.  47 Tuc is takes up much more any telescope's field of view than even the largest planet, Jupiter.  Carlos Taylor posted his image of the bright globular cluster 47 Tucanae to the BINTEL Society Facebook Group. He used a 10" Sky-Watcher Quattro Newtonian reflector. It looks pretty crowded in there. How tightly packed are globular clusters? Do stars ever collide? Through a telescope globular clusters look dense on their outskirts and seem to be a tightly packed core towards their centres. The stars almost seem to be touching! However, there's still a huge distance between each star, with around a light year on average and maybe about a third of a light year in the core. This is still vast in human terms. Both of NASA's Voyager spacecraft have been travelling for 40 years but would take them a further 6,300 years to reach the nearest star if it were travelling between stars in the core of a globular cluster. Even with these distances, collisions between stars at the centre of globular clusters are possible. Whether collisions or mergers results in "core collapse" or black holes is still a topic for research. The HST (Hubble Space Telescope) helped us understand how their stars can pull matter from others, effectively winding back their stellar clocks to and forming a brighter star called a "Blue Straggler". Could life emerge in globular clusters? Most astrobiologists regard planets as essential for life as we know it to exist and globular clusters are probably not likely places for planets to form. The lack of elements much heavier than hydrogen and helium around their older stars means the materials needed for planets, especially rocky ones like the Earth, simply aren't there*. If planets were to form, they'd probably be yeeted from the globular cluster by gravitational interactions between the stars. Where did globular clusters come from?  While our understanding of star formation in a galaxy is generally agreed on, how ancient globular clusters emerge is still not fully clear. A distinguishing feature is that they tend not to have a central black hole - although astronomers have found candidates in some  - nor do they have a halo of dark matter.  Young star clusters in nearby galaxies also don't have these features. There's no gas and dust in a globular cluster and this means no new stars are now being formed, although some show different populations of stars. What you're viewing is light only from the stars themselves and not from illuminated gas clouds, unlike the emission nebulae we discussed last week. How can a globular cluster be older than the host galaxy? Globular clusters are hardy critters. As they're compact (in space terms at least) and so tightly bound together by gravity, as galaxies merge and collide, they're likely to maintain their original form and not be torn apart by the gravitational effects of the encounter.  Studies by the Gaia mission and other studies have help unravel how the Milky Way was assembled and have discovered more than half of its globular clusters were formed in other galaxies and ended up within it because of mergers. The Milky Way is the result of multiple mergers with other smaller galaxies. This is quite common for galaxies. While a "galactic merger" sounds like a pretty violent event, they happen over enormous time frames. The stars in galaxies have large distances between each other even in galactic cores so collisions between them would be extremely rare. Think of these events as being more like thin clouds of smoke sliding into each other. The Milky Way and The Andromeda Galaxy will merge in the next few billion years and the globular clusters from the two galaxies will likely settle into the "new" combined entity just fine. What are some other globular clusters worth exploring? Here's some of our favourites out of the many that can be seen with even a small telescope. Comment or message me with others you think are worth observing M 22  47 Tucanae NGC 6752  Omega Centauri M 62 (You might need to wait for some of these to be visible from your location) Make sure you point your telescope at a globular cluster in the coming months. They're an amazing sight, with each one being a little bit different. There's nothing like staring at one of these sparkling balls on the edge of our galaxy and realising you're looking at thousands, if not millions of ancient stars from the early days of the Universe. Cheers, Earl White  BINTEL 11th February 2025 *The famous short story "Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov takes place in a globular cluster. Well worth a read.

Update 21st February: NASA has changed the chance of the impact on Earth of 2024 YR4 to 0.28% after further observations. This will likely change as further investigations and observations are carried out.  There's also now a 1% chance it could also hit the Moon! Check out more at the NASA Blog here -  https://blogs.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/ Cheers, Earl White - BINTEL   There's been lot of media coverage over the last few weeks about an asteroid called 2024 YR4. This is a hunk of space rock currently orbiting the Sun and the path it’s on means there’s a non-zero chance of it hitting the Earth on the 22nd of December 2032.  It’s estimated it’s between 40m and 100m in size. (You’ll see a lot of articles and posts with varying sizes. We still don’t have enough observations to make a more accurate estimate.) This is the not in the same class of object that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs, but it would cause major damage across a large area if it were to hit a populated area.  Will it hit Earth? First of all -  Hand's up anyone who hasn't played Lotto? I won't remind you about the enormity of just how difficult it is to win a first or even second division. Nice to happen, but pretty much impossible. On the other hand, it's not uncommon for to win a consolation prize in the lowest division and the chance of this happening are around the same as 2024 YR4 impacting Earth in a few year's time. NOT an image of 2024 YR4  - this is the asteroid Bennu but 2024 YR no doubt looks similar. Image via NASA How was 2024 YR4 found? It was reported to the minor planet centre on the 27th of December 2024 and found by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System or ATLAS based in Chile. We talked a little while ago about ATLAS in this BINTEL article here. While this system is mainly designed to do exactly this - find objects that might pose a threat to the Earth - it’s also very good at finding comets and that’s why so many comets in discovered in recent years have ATLAS in their name. ATLAS scans the skies and looks for any unknown objects that move against their background stars from night to night. Anything that is not in the database of known objects is reported for further investigation. There's a lot of bodies that have been discovered in the Solar System. If you're playing pub trivia and one of the questions is "roughly how many near Earth space objects have been identified?" The answer is close to 38,000! How dangerous is it? 2024 YR4 has been classified as an Apollo class asteroid. This is because its orbit crosses Earth's own orbit.  We measure just how dangerous near Earth objects are by the Torino Scale. This goes from 0-10, with 0 being nothing at all to worry about and 10 being certain disaster for humanity.  There's a BINTEL article from a couple of years ago when there was an object at one on the scale. You can always check out the Minor Planet Center here. Currently, 2024 YR4 is three on the Torino scale. (There was an object that briefly reached four some years ago. More detailed refinements observations of its orbit showed it to be harmless.) Torino ratings of two to four are classed as "Meriting attention by astronomers". An illustration showing the progress of 2024Y4 through the inner Solar System. Image via NASA We know where it is, how big it is and what direction it’s moving in. Why can’t we get a good prediction now?  The issue is that we don’t know these things with enough accuracy to make a more detailed prediction. For example, scientists estimate the size of an object like this by the amount of light they reflect. As they learn about the composition of 2024 YR4 they’ll be able to calculate its size and path with more accuracy. Currently its moving away from Earth making observations more difficult. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will make detailed observations of 2024 YR4 in March and May and from these we'll learn more about its composition and size.  We will be closer to the asteroid during an encounter in 2028 (with zero chance of collision during then.) This will also an ideal time to learn more about 2024 YR4. What’s the chance of it impacting Earth and why did this appear to increase over the last day or so? As of today, the chance is 1 in 43 or about 2.3%. This increased from the estimated 1.8% last week due to refinements in the predication around its orbit.  What’s happens if in a couple of years the chance of impact become very likely? This could happen. The Earth has been struck by several major impacts in recent decades. Probably the most famous is the Tunguska event in June 1908 where a rocky asteroid exploded over a part of Russia releasing energy similar to an atomic explosion of up to 50 megatons. The area is so remote and difficult to access, it was some years before it was investigated by scientists. It was also a near miss in space terms. Arriving a few hours later the asteroid might have wiped out London, Paris or other European centres and possibly change the history of the 20th century.  Aftermath of the Tunguska event. Image by Leonid Kulik This is the largest asteroid impact in recorded human history, although impact craters which were caused by larger bodies are scattered right across the surface of the Earth. Many of our readers would remember the Chelyabinsk event in February 2013 where an asteroid exploded over Chelyabinsk in Russia, injuring some 1,500 people and damaging over 3,000 building. There was some amazing footage of this, much of it caught on the dash cams of Russian commuters! Russian dashcam captures the Chelyabinsk event Rocky bodies often explode as they reach Earth. Heating during the brief journey through our atmosphere causes enormous internal strains that can cause them shatter.It's worth noting what exploded over Chelyabinsk was not picked up by any detection system in place at the time prior to it arriving at Earth. If - and it’s still a big IF at this stage - it was determined that 2024 YR4 posed a threat to Earth then various Planetary Defense measures would swing into action depending on the actual threat. The most obvious would be to simply send a fleet of rockets up to meet 2024 YR4 and blow it up using Hydrogen bombs. This might be problematic and split, with asteroid into large chunks still heading towards Earth. (Hey, we’ve all seen the movies!) A more realistic approach might be to either attach some kind of thrusters to one side of the asteroid, slam spacecraft into it or even detonate devices to nudge it off the collision course with Earth.  While this does all sound like a sci-fi movie, NASA has carried out tests during its DART Mission where it slammed a spacecraft into an asteroid to change its course.  Read more here.  While the chance of 2024 YR4 impacting Earth remain low, it's still considered dangerous enough to activate the first step in NASA's planetary defence system. Will the chance of impact go up or down? Asteroids on orbits that cross Earth's own orbit are common. There have been numerous objects that were a worry, but they have always been shown to be harmless as more data about them is collected.  While 2024 YR4 might cause damage to Earth, it's a pretty sure bet that as we learn more about it the chances of an event happening will be more like winning the big on Lotto and quite likely beyond that.  It's unlikely to cause any damage on Earth but it's a reminder that the Solar System is a busy and crowded neighbourhood. While the chances of any particular asteroid hitting us is low, when one does is not a matter of if, but when. Cheers,Earl WhiteBINTEL7th February 2024  

The Summer of Planets for 2025 is wrapping up.  Mars is still an amazing sight in telescopes and it's the best time to see it for a couple of years. Jupiter is also quite dazzling at the moment as well.  Over the last few months we've been delighted by the rush of new astronomers who've purchased telescopes from us to catch this rare planetary alignment.  As we head into end of summer and towards the autumn months, you'll find a wide variety of deep-sky astro objects that can be viewed in telescopes of all sizes.  At BINTEL we really, really love observing and photographing the Solar System planets and learning about them. The problem is that there are only a few of the with in the reach of amateur telescope gear compared to the thousands of deep-sky astro objects that are the Milky Way and beyond.  In this article we'll look at some of the most spectacular things you'll be able to see - Nebulae Rather than simply listing what's in the sky, we'll chat about some of astronomer's favourites in a few categories. A nebula is a region in space that contains clouds of interstellar gas and dust. When they contract and collapse due to gravity, new stars can be formed. Our own Sun was formed when this happened about 4.6 billion years ago.  Once stars start shining through nuclear fusion, these clouds are spread further out space. It's a complicated process and astronomers study nebulae to better understand the life cycles of stars.  There are number of different types of these gas and dust clouds and what we'll cover here are Emission Nebula. These are nebulae shine because the gas in them is excited by the energy they absorb from nearby stars.  They don't reflect the light of stars, but rather emit their own light and at very specific wavelengths. Emission nebulae can be bright cover a large area of the sky.  Orion's Sword or Handle of the Saucepan? One of the most famous emission nebula in the sky is The Great Orion Nebula or M42*.  This is visible with just your eyes alone as a small, misty patch in the handle of the saucepan in Orion for us folks in the Southern Hemisphere. (Of if you're in the Northern Hemisphere where everything is upside down, in the sword that hangs off the belt of Orion.) It's easily found being part of a bright constellation. If you're using any of the Celestron StarSense Explorer telescopes, the included phone app will take you directly there.  Where to find The Orion Nebula in Sydney around the 6th of March around 10.30pm local time - yes, it appear to be on its side this time of  the year   Where to find The Orion Nebula in the "handle of saucepan" While M42 can be seen with your eyes, a pair of binoculars will show it as a small patch of what looks like cloud. Even a small telescope will reveal to the mist like clouds of gas that spread away a central brighter region.  These are not passing clouds as many first time viewers of M42 have thought. They're vast regions interstellar gas that cover up to 25 years across, or about six times the distance that Earth is to our nearest star.  The M42 star forming region is also over 1,300 light years away from Earth. It's amazing to think of how much energy is being collected by the nebula that it lights up like a neon light so brightly that it can be seen by local inhabitants of a rocky planet that far away. M42 covers roughly the same amount of sky as the Full Moon - about half a degree across.  If you'd purchased larger telescope from BINTEL such as the saxon 8" Dobsonian,  you'll see the central star is actually several - a cluster called the Trapezium.  Some far southern skies delights: The largest and brightest nebula region in the night sky is not M42. The Carina Nebula  complex in the far southern sky and easily seen as a dense part of the Milky Way that runs near the Southern Cross and appears more than four times larger then M42.  It's also called NGC 3372 and Caldwell 92 Close up view of the Carina Nebula region The Carina Nebula was known the ancient cultures and "discovered" by Europeans in 1752.  It's located some 8,500 light years from Earth. It appears to your eyes as a bright knot, embedded in the Milky Way and is part of the Milky Way in a region called the Carina–Sagittarius arm. Follow the Milky Way up from the Southern Cross Binoculars will show more detail and again, a delight in any telescope.  As it covers such as large area, it's best first explored with the low powered eyepieces. A bright star system in the nebula complex is Eta Carina (in fact sometime the nebula region is simply referred to as "Eta Carina") contains at least two stars orbiting each other that's more than a million times brighter than the Sun. An obvious feature of the Carina Nebula is a dark region that seems to cut the nebula in half. This is not because of different section to the bright gas clouds, but rather due a region called a dark nebula that's in front of it as seen from Earth. This is also a cloud of gas and dust however there are no nearby stars to illuminate it and it blocks the light from distant stars and other nebulae.  Possibly the most famous dark nebula in the sky is the "Coalsack" which in the Southern Cross which blocks the light from the Milky Way in its lower section and appears as a black patch against the brilliance of the sky in that region. It's something you'll easily spot with your eyes along under dark skies.  There are many features including star clusters around the Carina Nebula. An area you'll never get bored exploring with a telescope. Do other galaxies have nebulae? They certainly do! While we're observing this part of the sky the largest nearby galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) was another bright object in the night sky well known for thousands of years by the locals that was again "discovered" Ferdinand Magellan in 1519 and only then became known to Western science. It used to be thought of as a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way but we know thinks it's actually a smaller galaxy that's swinging by the Milky Way. (You can read more about this in a BINTEL article here.) The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy** with regions of star formation that are normally found through its arms. The LMC is an irregular galaxy without such a clearly defined structure. It contains denser regions with rapid star formation over large areas. One area is the Tarantula Nebula which sits in one corner of the LMC. This also called NGC 20270 and Caldwell 103. Where the Tarantula Nebula in the LMC can be seen within the LMC at around 9.30pm on the 5th of March 2024 from Sydney. The LMC itself appears as a detached area of the Milky Way. This nebula is definitely one that needs a telescope to view. The reason it has the name of the Tarantula Nebula is the arcs of illuminated gas resemble the leg of a large spider! Again, this is an object that is well worth exploring in any telescope.  An illustration of the LMC produced by Stellarium showing where the Tarantula is located near the top of the image. This entire region is well worth exploring in binoculars as cover a significant patch of the sky . It's amazing what a fuzzy are of the sky can reveal with even modest optical gear.  In the next of the series about deep-sky astro objects for beginners we'll cover star clusters.  Cheers, Earl White BINTEL  6th February 2025   *Astronomers use various catalogues to get track of objects. Common ones include Messier or M numbers, New General Catalogue NGC and others.  ** The structure of the Milky Way is complex. It's a barred spiral and we're still learning about its shape and even how many major arms it has.             

A new release from Kite Optics offers the hand held portability of binoculars along with high power viewing of a spotting scope As many  would know, binoculars are an ideal and convenient way to bring things in the distance up close and in more detail.  They've been around in various forms for quite a while, but binoculars in their current guise they were probably invented early in the 19th century (as you can imagine, there's a bit of a debate who exactly did that!) and their use quickly spread across nature lovers, those on the water and throughout the military where they replaced the classic "spy glass". There's a few things binoculars offer compared to a single hand held small telescope, often called a "monocular". First of all, our brain forms images in our mind based on the information it receives from our two eyes. This means you'll see a more detailed and wider view.*  We also need information from both eyes for us to form a better 3D depth perception.  Finally, holding on to both sides of binoculars can help steady them and reduce shaking either caused by the surrounds or hand movements.   There's now a vast number of binoculars for general purpose viewing, as well as speciality models - plus they vary in price. BINTEL has binoculars for under $100 to almost $10,000! With all binoculars you'll notice a size on them. It expressed as something like 8x42, or 10x32 etc. The first number is the magnification and the second is the dimeter of each of the front lenses in mm. It's the magnification or how much larger they make what you're looking at appear that we want to concentrate on.  As binoculars are for bringing things in the distance close, it's natural to think the higher the magnification, the better the binoculars must. This isn't always the case! As magnifications increase, the width of the views side to side decreases. Any movements or shake of your hands are also magnified. There's no right or wrong binos for you and there's certainly no one size which is the only one you'd use for say whale watching or taking to the cricket. What does happen is that as you increase the magnification they become harder to hold still until you reach the point where very tiring and tricky to use for long periods of time.  This usually happens at around 16x magnification and beyond.  Binocular manufacturers have started to employ electronic image stabilising technology to help hold higher magnification binos still while you observe through them. This works surprisingly well and have proven very popular with BINTEL customers over the years. Even with this technology there's a limit to the magnification that can be used.    Kite Optics Image Stabilised 16x42 binoculars Many companies also produce spotting scopes. These are usually single barrel small telescopes that have their optics set up for best viewing of landscapes, ocean views or getting up close to wildlife. They're popular with birdwatchers for views of nesting birds from a distance or shore birds. Spotting scopes often have larger diameter lenses than binoculars and higher magnifications - normally started at say 20x and going up as far as 60X. Zoom eyepieces that let you locate what you'd like to and then increase the magnification for a much closer view. To overcome the issue of holding them still in your hands they are designed to be mounted on a tripod. It will generally take you longer to find objects in a spotting scope as well. It's not questions of what's better, binoculars or spotting scopes. Rather each has its own something to offer observers.  While tripods are a cost effective way to hold a spotting scope still, they take a little while to set up and have to packed away and carried when you're travelling.  Here at BINTEL we're pretty happy to see the release by Kite Optics of the first full sized spotting scope with electronic image stabilisation. We've been big fans of the Kite image stabilised binoculars for a couple of years. The release of the Kite Optics APC Stabilised 60 ED with similar tech is something new that hasn't been offered to consumers in the past. What it means is that you now use the higher magnifications useful for long distance viewing that are found in spotting scopes without the need to for a tripod. It offers the power of a spotting scope combined with the convenience of hand held binoculars. It's easy to see how Kite Optics APC Stabilised 60 ED could quickly become a favourite among nature explorers and travellers to remote locations.  Another application might be as quick "grab n' go" spotting scope for those with water or ocean views - I'm sure our customers will quickly come up with other uses.  We certainly have many folks requesting hand held optics with high magnifications.  You can read more about the Kite Optics APC Stabilised 60 ED along with tech details and specifications here. There will be only a limited number available during the initial release and you can reserve yours now via the link above. Cheers, Earl White  BINTEL  31st January 2025 *This is referring to people without vision problems. 

Big news about what was found in a few precious grams returned to Earth from a daring mission to an asteroid. Back in 2023, NASA returned from space a tiny sample of the asteroid Bennu that was collected by their  OSIRIS-REx mission (we even mentioned in a BINTEL article about there were problems removing the top of the container from the spacecraft that you can read about here.) What was found in just 122 grams of material from this roughly 490m across asteroid is significant.  Mission scientist Jason Dworkin holds a vial containing part of the Bennu sample returned by OSIRIS-REx. Image via NASA First of all, Bennu is an "time capsule" from the early part of the Solar System's history.  It was likely formed by an impact with a much larger asteroid, around 100-200km across, in the Mars - Jupiter asteroid belt. This caused a large number of asteroid "chips" to fly off into space, with Bennu ending up being in a near Earth orbit. We'd already suspected that Bennu likely contained water and this was confirmed by OSIRIS-REx on approach. Illustration of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at Bennu - image via NASA These grains of rock have shown that the building blocks of life and the conditions for making them existed on Bennu's parent body 4.5 billion years ago. What was found on the asteroid? NASA, along with other geoscientists from other institutes examined these tiny grains and published their results in Nature.  They found chemicals which are here on Earth form the basis for life including a wide variety of amino acids - 14 of the 20 that are present on Earth. Without these aminos acids, life would not be here and that includes us! These mean that Bennu's parent body - the larger asteroid is was knocked off - not only contained these important compounds but also had enough energy to keep water liquid. Many of these chemicals only form in the presence of salty water.  Salty water or brine has been detected elsewhere in the Solar System including on the moon of Saturn, Enceladus. “NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission already is rewriting the textbook on what we understand about the beginnings of our solar system,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.   The samples from Bennu collected by the OSIRIS-REx space craft. Image via NASA If these materials are on Bennu, what does this suggest about other parts of the Solar System? Asteroids provide a time capsule into our home planet’s history, and Bennu’s samples are pivotal in our understanding of what ingredients in our solar system existed before life started on Earth. It's not the first time these building blocks have been found in extraterrestrial rocks such as meteorites and they're also seen in interstellar gas and dust clouds further out in the Milky Way. The importance of the Bennu find is that we know it was a pristine sample collected in space. “The clues we’re looking for are so minuscule and so easily destroyed or altered from exposure to Earth’s environment,” said Danny Glavin, a senior sample scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and co-lead author of the Nature Astronomy paper. “That’s why some of these new discoveries would not be possible without a sample-return mission, meticulous contamination-control measures, and careful curation and storage of this precious material from Bennu.” From these samples we know understand that the parent object formed some distance from the Sun now might contain life forming chemical compounds.  After Bennu was knocked off its parent asteroid, further processes stopped. On larger bodies these processes might have continued. Was there life on Bennu? Not they we know of. These results do not suggest that life ever existed on Bennu. There's no signs of current life in the samples so fears about them contaminating Earth are also unfounded. In fact, scientists take great care when sending missions to Mars and other bodies to sterilise spacecraft and landers to avoid Earth microbes and other tiny critters from here taking up residence on other worlds and making detection of local "wildlife" harder.  We already know that Earth life can survive the extreme environment of space for extended periods so the real risk is Earth life infecting the other bodies in the Solar System. Have the samples from Bennu posed any questions about life here? Yes. For example, some aminos acids are in mirror images of each other. There can exist in either left-handed or right-handed versions. Earth life almost always are formed from left-handed versions, however the Bennu samples contain an almost equal quantity of left and right handed version. Why aminos acids in Earth life are left-handed is still unknown. (Bear in mind that this is do with chemical arrangements and has nothing to do with which hand you hold a pen with or the way you face when opening the batting for Australia.) Are we going to find life in the Solar System? Good question. We don't know but we are looking. There's currently multiple missions both planned and already underway that are examining the suitability of conditions for the presence of life. For example,  NASA missions to Mars have tested for life going back to the Viking landers in 1976 and the Europa Clipper is traveling to Jupiter to investigate its moon as a possible host for life.  The main mission of the Perseverance Rover (or "Percy" to its mates) trundling slowly across the surface of Mars is to look for either signs of past life or areas where it could have survived. Percy recently deposited a number of samples on the surface of Mars and NASA is currently investigating how to return these carefully collected Martian samples.  I think many researchers feel that a definitive discovery about life elsewhere in the Solar System in highly likely, whereas others aren't so hopeful.  Needless to say, a second place in the Solar System where life once thrived, even it in ancient times, would have a profound effect on how we view the rest of the Universe further out into the Milky Way.  Does the Bennu results hint at life arriving on the Earth from meteorites or did it start locally? Another good question! We're yet to positively work out where life started on Earth and that it arrived on a rock which crashed into a young Earth cannot be ruled out. This theory, called panspermia, does kick the can down the road about the original source of life.  Can I see Bennu with my telescope? Sadly no. It's too faint and beyond the abilities of amateur telescopes. Many astronomy apps will show its location.  What these samples do show is that when you look up at night, the asteroids and moons around gas giant planets and maybe even Mars contain the conditions where maybe life existed some day. Cheers, Earl White - BINTEL 30th January 2025

One of the most exciting hi-tech astronomy products is on the way! Pegasus Astro announced their SmartEye eyepiece last year at the NEAF 2024 show in the USA. In an astronomy show packed with new technology, this new gizmo was a stand out. Some of the crew from BINTEL were able to experience the SmartEye up close and we were might impressed by it. Rather than being an entire system Smart Telescopes like the ZWO Seestar S50, Vaonis Vespera or DWARF 3, the SmartEye is used in place of a tradition eyepiece on a telescope. The view through the SmartEye is of what the telescope is seeing, except automatically and quickly electronically enhanced.  This means that the longer you view an astro object, more details and colours will be revealed in much the same way a traditional astrophotography system creates an image - except the Pegasus does this in real time as you look on.  This is a view through the SmartEye using a 85mm APO telescope that shows how the live view of an image gradually improves over just a minute or so as the eyepiece collects more details from this deep-space object. You'll notice how colours are also revealed - something not normally seen even in large telescopes using a  standard eyepiece. Also included is an inbuilt electronic cooler, to reduce electronic "noise" and this vastly  improves image quality. It has a swag of other functions including traditional astrophotography features and object assistance via Wi-Fi. This means the astrophotography feature of the SmartEye and live viewing can be handled on your phone or iPad/tablet. We're quite excited by the SmartEye.  We posted a another video  of the view through a SmartEye of the Moon and it's also stunning! You can find it here. This an ideal way to upgrade a serious telescope and likely to breath new life into larger ones like Dobsonians.    These new SmartEye eyepieces are due to be sent to BINTEL in April 2024. Given the interest from around the world, there's unsurprisingly only a limited number available and you can reserve yours by visiting this link.  Cheers, Earl White BINTEL 26th January 2025

A New Era Begins at Port Macquarie Observatory: Installing a Cutting-Edge Telescope Setup It's a new era for Port Macquarie Observatory, with a newly installed state-of-the-art telescope setup, replacing the trusty MyT C14 system that dutifully served the facility for many years. In just two days, the experienced team at Bintel managed to successfully assemble and test the new setup, bringing a whole new set capabilities to the observatory to serve the keen astronomers of Port Macquarie. The New Setup The heart of this installation lies in the robust, reliable and precise Planewave L500 mount, the mount of choice for many a professional observatory due to its exceptional tracking and pointing accuracy. The mount was installed on a Pier-Tech pier in order to provide the rock-solid foundation critical for both visual and photographic Astronomy. Bintel worked with the team at Port Macquarie Observatory to help select the best setup to suit their needs and landed on these three telescope systems in order to cater to a variety of observational needs: A Celestron RASA 11 with a ZWO 2600MC-P camera for high-speed, wide-field astrophotography. A Celestron C14 SCT to deliver stunning planetary and deep-sky views. An Esprit 80 refractor to serve as an additional imaging instrument. In order to manage the complex power and data requirements of the system, the installation was equipped with a Pegasus Powerbox V3 so as to ensure the seamless operation and integration of cameras, dew heaters, and all other accessories. Day 1: Installation The first day was largely dedicated to assembling the equipment. In just one day the Bintel team managed to: Mount the Planewave L500 onto the pier. Install the Celestron C14, Celestron RASA 11, and Esprit 80 telescopes. Connect and secure the Pegasus Powerbox V3 to the rest of the telescope systems, integrating all data and power requirements into one streamlined and straightforward system. Thanks to rigorous pre-planning and 50 years of installation experience, the physical setup process went about as smooth as can be. Day 2: Testing and Motor Tuning With all the equipment installed, day 2 focused on the testing and fine-tuning of the Planewave L500 mount. Motor tuning was performed in order to ensure optimal performance, guaranteeing precise tracking and slewing. The mount's smooth operation all but confirming its readiness for future imaging sessions. Unfortunately, while poor weather conditions prevented the creation of a pointing model—a key step for calibrating the system's alignment, the groundwork has been laid, and once clear skies return, the pointing model will be created and Port Macquarie Observatory will be once more ready to serve the astronomy enthusiasts of Port Macquarie. What’s Next for the Observatory? The new setup at Port Macquarie Observatory represents a significant upgrade, offering unparalleled versatility for both high power visual observation and wide-field astrophotography. Once fully calibrated, the system will provide a platform for both amateur and professional astronomers to explore the cosmos with clarity and detail like never before. This installation is a testament to the dedication of the astronomical community and highlights the importance of the continual improving of facilities to keep up with advancements in technology. With this cutting-edge setup, Port Macquarie Observatory have taken a step in to the future of Astronomy and is ready to inspire the next generation of stargazers and astrophotographers. Whether you’re visiting to peer through the C14’s eyepiece or marvel at the breathtaking images captured by the RASA 11 and Esprit 80, one thing is clear: the universe just got a little closer to Port Macquarie.

It's all to do with different orbits.... Here on Earth we complete orbits around the Sun more quickly than Solar System planets that are further away, such as Mars, Saturn, Jupiter etc.  Think of it as being like the inside of a running on a running track. Over time the Earth will move further away from the other planets as we "lap" them.  We could for example be on the other side of the Sun and a long distance from them. Opposition refers to the times when our respective orbits take us as close as we're going to get to a another planet for a while. In other words, we're directly "opposite" it.  Mars as seen from the HST (Hubble Space Telescope) during the 2016 Opposition. More here.  The Mars 2025 Opposition occurs on the 16th of January, Sydney time but there's no rush. If you see other dates such as the 15th of January for the event, they might be for say the USA. Don't worry however. Oppositions are slow moving events - planets are great viewing in the weeks leading up to opposition and for weeks afterwards. They're not one of these "blink and you'll miss it" type of astro events.  Mars will be fantastic viewing for the rest of January 2025 and well into February. How often do Mars oppositions occur? Planetary oppositions don't occur every 12 months. The reason is that by the time it takes for Earth to return to the same spot as the previous year, the other planet has moved on in its own orbit. Mars' orbit is about twice as long as Earth's which mean our planets spend more than a year before they are at opposition again.  Mars oppositions occur roughly every 27 months, so viewing and imaging opportunities like the current one aren't common. In comparison, Jupiter oppositions happen every 13 months and Saturn every 378 days or practically every year.  Why are some Mars oppositions closer than other? You might see headlines along the lines of "the best you'll see Mars until" etc. Some planetary oppositions bring us closer than others. This is because all planets travel around the Sun not in circular orbits, but elliptical orbits which are elongated. During their orbits they're slightly closer to the Sun than other times of the year. Even though the planets are aligned and opposite each on the same side Sun, the distance between them can vary.  The 2027, 2029 and 2031 oppositions won't bring Mars as close to us as it is in 2025. We'll have to wait until 2033 to get closer to the red planet. Where's Mars located in the night sky at the moment? When planets are at opposition, they're usually visible for most if not all of the night. They rise early in the evening and are visible all night until the Sun rises. For 2025, the opposition of Mars occurs not long after the Jupiter opposition some weeks ago.  Both will be in the sky at the same time. You will see Jupiter will rise a little before Mars.  The view from Sydney on the 16th of January around 10.30pm local time. The size of the astro objects in illustration are to indicate relative brightness, not how large they'll appear in the sky. Image produced by Stellarium. It will be hard to miss Jupiter as it's brightest object in the sky when it gets dark. Mars will be brightly glowing a deep red colour to the right of Jupiter and the slightly below.  Is this something to do with the "parade of the planets I've heard about?" Yes.  Mars, Jupiter, as well as Venus and Saturn can be all seen together. More here. What sort telescope do I need to see Mars? Mars reveals itself to be a planet in even fairly small telescopes.  A 70mm or 80mm refractor will show this as long as it's a f/8 or f/10 telescope. Wide field telescopes like a 80mm f/4 or f/5 might have trouble producing a large enough image to show Mars as planet.  Bear in mind that Mars, along with the other planets, appears quite small in the night sky.  Here' a comparison with Mars and the Moon during a recent occultation where Mars disappeared behind the Lunar disk.  Almost any set of binoculars will show Jupiter as a round "dot" instead of a star along with up to four of its moons spread out from either side of the giant planet. Even powerful binoculars won't show much else when used to look at Mars.  Here at BINTEL we can assist with some telescopes that are well regarded for planetary viewing. A good example would be the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 6. This uses the famous Celestron SCT (Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope) optical system that manages to pack a fairly long f-ratio telescope into a compact and portable tube.  Celestron SCT type telescope are a great astronomical all rounder. They produce large planetary images with enough aperture to collect light from faint object such as nebulae, galaxies and more.  More details on this telescope here.  Dobsonian telescopes or "Dobs" are sometimes overlooked as planetary telescopes and better known for deep-sky viewing - which is a shame as they offer great views of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn due to their comparatively long focal length. The solid mounts found on Dobs also result in steady viewing with little vibration.  One such Dob that would be a great Mars viewing companion is the saxon 8" Dobsonian. We'd be hard pushed to find a better value for money telescope for the planets - more information can be found on saxon Dobsonian telescopes here. What am I going to see when I look at Mars through a telescope? The size of Mars will depend on the size of your telescope and the type and magnification of the eyepiece. It should appear as a bright orange red "ball". One of the buzzes of using a telescope to view planets is when what appears to be a bright star with your eyes turns out to be a distant world through the eyepiece.  Mars is unique as it's the only Solar System planet that we can easily see details on the surface.  You'll be able to spot the white polar caps which are made of frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice to us poor humans) as well as large lighter and darker areas of surface markings. The red planet rotates at a similar rate to Earth. This means you'll see different surface features from night to night.  Mars is fuzzy tonight part 1: Why is "seeing" important? We all notice how stars "twinkle", but did you notice that the same stars can twinkle more on some nights compared to others? This is caused by air current above our heads. Just how steady the air is called the "seeing" by astronomers.  (Even a totally clear night can have poor air quality - it's not related to cloud cover blocking your view.)  As Solar System planets have a lot of detail on a very small astro object, they can be impacted by the quality of the air.  Mars through a telescope might sometimes appear to shimmy and shake around and you could even have problems seeing the edge of the planet as it wavers about.  If you wait for a few minutes, the seeing might improve suddenly. You'll be presented by a razor sharp view of Mars and then it might go back to being a bit blurry.  Other times you might have to head out the follow nigh if things are bad enough. We sometimes have BINTEL customers worried there's something wrong with their telescopes or they haven't have properly focused them, especially when they start using their new telescope. Don't stress - the views will improve.  Mars is fuzzy tonight part 2: Dust storms The red planet is renowned for vast dust storms that sweep across the planet hiding surface details  Two 2001 images from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor orbiter showing Mars' surface being almost totally covered by a dust storm that originated in the planet's southern region. Image via NASA. More info here. These dust storms seem to coincide with oppositions much to the frustration of astronomers! Luckily, the 2025 Mars opposition seems to be a dust free encounter. (Fingers crossed.) We'll be talking more about Mars in the coming days as the 2025 Opposition rolls on. Cheers, Earl White BINTEL 16th January 2025    

One of the more exciting releases for astrophotographers is the the new QHY miniCAM8 system. It's a handy way to add a compact imaging setup to an existing rig and a perfect step up for those start to get serious about their astro photos.  It's an affordable and easy to use way to add to a mono or colour astro imaging camera to your telescope along with: A built-in filter wheel Commonly used filters customised for the miniCAM8 Integrated cooling system  Powerful camera 512 MB of DDR3 RAM to handle data transfer of even large images 1.25" and 2" nosepiece adaptors This combination is a small but powerful astronomy camera for both deep-sky imaging, an eight position filter wheel in about the same form fact you'd normally find a five position filter wheel taking up. There's also built-in electronic cooling for dropping the temperature of the imaging system by around 45C. This helps reduce electronic noise for much sharper and clearer images.  The camera itself is the IMX585 sensor, well known for its exceptional sensitivity which means its well suited to even challenging conditions and tricky targets. The system also features anti-dew control and zero amplifier glow  The miniCAM8 is available in two variants, a one-shot colour camera with four filters included. These have been customised by Optolong Optics. They are: Light pollution filter Heavy light pollution filter Four-channel enhancement filter UV/IR cut filter The custom filters included with the colour version of the QHY miniCAM8 The mono version both LRGB and SHO narrowband filters for deepsky imaging, all designed by XiMei Filters. The filters included with the mono version of the QHY miniCAM8 Both the colour and mono filter sets are19 mm x 12 mm * 1.1 mm in size which makes them a perfect match the for the miniCAM8 camera and filter wheel. The QHY miniCAM8 is supported by wide range of software such as N.I.N.A and SharpCap We're expecting both models of the QHY miniCAM8 Imaging Systems to become available next month and for a limited time we're offering free shipping to all parts of Australia. Check them out via these links: QHY miniCAM8 Colour Camera - Deepsky Combo QHY miniCAM8 Mono Camera - Deepsky Combo You can also secure one with  25% deposit. Cheers, Earl White  BINTEL 8th January 2025 Specifications Model miniCAM8 CMOS Sensor Sony IMX585 Mono/Colour Both Available BSI/FSI BSI Sensor Size 1/1.2inch Pixel Size 2.9μm*2.9μm Total Pixel Area 3856*2180 Effective Pixels 8 MP Full Well Capacity 54ke-   Linearity HDR Mode: 46ke- Readout Noise 0.76 – 7.8 e-   Linearity HDR Mode: 1.0e- Peak QE M: 92%   C: R: 82%; G: 87%; B: 75% Dynamic Range Linearity HDR mode: The dynamic range reaches up to 46,300:1, equivalent to 93 dB or 15.5 stops. A/D Dual 12-bit (output as 16-bit) Full Frame Rates Full Resolution: 41.5FPS@8bit，23.5FPS @16bit ROI Frame Rates Full Resolution 1080Lines, 82FPS@8bit, 47FPS@16bit；640Lines, 177FPS@8bit, 105FPS@16bit Exposure Time Range 11μs-900sec Shutter Type Electronic Rolling Shutter Built-in Image Buffer 512MB DDR3 Computer Interface USB3.0 Telescope Interface 1.25 inch Optic Window Type AR+AR Filter Wheel Built-in 8-Position Carousel Back Focal Length 17.5mm Cooling System Dual Stage TEC cooler:   Long exposures (> 1 second) typically -45℃ below ambient Weight 480g  

UPDATE: 13th January - Movie of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) looping around the Sun as it passes through Perihelion. Seems intact and no major signs of breakup or disintegration. Things are looking good for a decent show in the early evening Australian skies later this week. Image via SOHO, the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory. More here. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Comet with the very poetic name of C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is about to have a close encounter with the Sun and if it survives  - and this is a very big "if" - could be one of the most spectacular astronomy events of 2025.  When was this Comet discovered and why do so many comets now seem to have "ATLAS" in their names? It was found on the 5th of April 2024 by the automated Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) system. This is an asteroid impact early warning system that scans the entire sky every night looking for moving objects that could pose a threat to us folks here on Earth. It's one of several early warning systems against incoming hunks of space rocks. You can read more about the ATLAS program here. As a result of scanning the sky so regularly and comparing it from night to night, the ATLAS program often finds comets when they are a long way from the Sun and appear as stars, giving away their true nature by the movement against the background of Milky Way stars.  Why the big "if"? Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is a sungrazing comet. Detailed observations revealed it to be a long period comet, meaning it's not a new arrival from the Oort cloud. It's visited the inner Solar System before. It will make its closet approach to the Sun, called perihelion, on January 13th, where it will be well within the distance that Mercury orbits the Sun at some 13.5 million km from our nearest star. The very closeness of this approach to the Sun is what makes C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) an exciting object to track and follow.  Comets are often referred to as "dirty snowballs", meaning they're loose clumps of water ice, frozen gases and other materials from the early stages of the Solar System. As they loop around the Sun during their orbit, some of this material is heated up and thrown into space. A thin atmosphere surrounding the comet expands into space where it can be seen as a fuzzy ball.  Material thrown away from the comet becomes the tail and shines either because of direct reflection of light from the Sun (a comet's dust tail) or because some of their gases are excited by the Sun's energy and emit their own light (the ion tail). It's not uncommon for comets to appear to have more than one tail, sometimes spreading at different angles to the comet itself. Even though comets themselves are usually only a few dozen km in size, their brightly illuminated tails can stretch out over millions of kms, sometimes even being larger than the Sun itself.  The behaviour of even regular cometary visitors to the inner Solar System can be hard to predict. Just how much material is thrown into space and how that will behave is an educated guess. It's even harder to say with certainty exactly how sungrazer comets will behave. As they travel close to the Sun, larger amounts of these comets are ejected into space and more likely to make a big splash in the sky.  Some of the most spectacular comets ever seen were sungrazer comets, such as Comet Lovejoy in 2011 and the even brighter Comet Ikeya–Seki in 1965.The downside of skirting so close to the Sun is that comets can be completely torn apart by this journey and then drift off into space. We had high hopes for C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) last year, however it was demolished by the Sun. Read more about sungrazers here. Sungrazing Comet Ikeya–Seki- in 1965 near Kitt Peak Observatory.  Image via  Roger Lynds/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/ – taken on Kodak Ektachrome We'll know shortly after C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) passes close to the Sun on January 13th whether it has survived somewhat intact and will be then visible in the coming weeks.  What could I see and when can I this comet? (Assuming it scoots through ok...)  It's estimated the comet will become visible in the evening sky in Australia from around the 16th or 17th of January, where it will be heading away from the Sun.   UPDATED: The spot in the sky where Comet Atlas (C/2024 G3) should be visible on the evening of the 20th January 2025 around 8.30pm. It will appear a little higher in the sky each evening and still be visible as the evening darkens, although it will also rapidly fade.  It should appear as a bright spot with a tail fanning out away from the comet. Full Moon is on 14th January 2025 in Australia, so the Moon will be below the horizon when the comet is visible early in the evening and won't interfere with viewing.  When will we know whether Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) has it made around the Sun intact? Given the potential for this comet, there will be a lot of interest about its behaviour after perihelion. We'll be keeping a close eye on any observations and sources like the Astronomer's Telegram and others for the latest news. I'll update this article as soon as we know more.  What do I need to view this comet? Our general advice with bright comets is to use binoculars. These give a nice wide field of view and are ideal for seeing the finer details of a comet's tail, especially if it's large and spread over several degrees. A telescope will give a close up views of a comet's coma, but won't be able to fit the tail into the field of view if it's spread over a larger part of the sky. Nikon Aculon 10x42 binos at BINTEL - more info here.  They don't need to be fancy either. Try the ones you have at home or look at the Nikon Aculon range here at BINTEL. These are affordable (starting at well under $200) and offer sharp clear view of the night sky and are ideal for day time viewing of birds, nature and sports.  I've read this is the best comet of 2025. Why are folks saying this? There are no periodic comets due to appear in skies for the rest of the year that will be bright enough to be seen with just your eyes, so yes, C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) could be the best comet of 2025. However, comets have a habit of surprising us and with any luck, the next Great Comet might dazzle us later in the year. I'll be updating this article with more charts as more info becomes available.  Cheers, Earl White BINTEL  6th January 2025