Welcome to the 9th issue of Celestron's 2009 Newsletter!

This month we are proud to introduce Article Spotlight, the new section on Celestron.com.

This section will feature monthly articles by contributing industry professionals to inform, engage and enlighten you on their personal experiences in the astronomical community.

Sponsored by CelestronLife.com, our Article Spotlight allows you to leave comments on the articles and experience our growing community of like-minded individuals on CelestronLife.com..

« learn more | meet contributors | read first article »

	CGE PRO Mount Video

Earlier this year, Celestron unveiled CGE PRO, our ground-breaking new German Equatorial mount. Now, we are happy to announce the release of a documentary-style video, detailing the features of this robust new platform.

In addition to being fully computerized with a database of over 40,000 celestial objects, the New CGE Pro German Equatorial mount has been completely redesigned to offer numerous design advantages for the Astrophotographer...

« visit CGE PRO page   |   watch video »

CONTEST ENDS SEPT 30: WIN A VINTAGE C11

Celestron is proud to have its vintage C11 telescope signed by a previous owner - Leonard Nimoy exhibited at the Franklin Institute as a part of "STAR TREK: THE EXHIBITION"

« learn more about THE EXHIBITION   |   enter to WIN A VINTAGE C11 »

Community Relations Blog
by Kevin Kawai

OUTREACH: Boy Scout Troop 378

Throughout the summer, Boy Scout Troop 378, from Torrance, CA has been meeting weekly at a local community center to learn about astronomy, as part of a program that would assist them to earn their Astronomy Merit Badge. Troop Leader, Steven Yen, as well as volunteers from the South Bay Astronomical Society, conducted classes to teach the Scouts about the night sky, the different types of telescopes in use, the birth, life and death of stars, identifying the constellations and so much more. Steven had contacted me to help assist with a star party for the Scouts, but each time a date was set, the star party was always called off due to the marine layer, which is infamous around the South Bay this time of year. Finally, on Thursday, August 27, 2009, and after many delays, the marine layer withdrew and lifted far enough from land. The Boy Scouts Star Party was back on!

« see photo album   |   read blog entry »

We really hope you've enjoyed reading this newsletter.
Please submit your feedback here:
http://www.celestronlife.com/blogs/entry/2009-Newsletter-Issue-9

Clear Skies!

Celestron Marketing Team

	Event Calendar Black Forest Star Party September 18-20 Pennsylvania, USA The Black Forest Star Party is an annual dark-sky amateur astronomy observing event hosted by the Central Pennsylvania Observers (CPO). Held every year since 1999, the BFSP generally spans a weekend in the late summer or early fall in Cherry Springs State Park in Potter County, Pennsylvania. read more » Astronomy at the Beach September 26-26 Michigan, USA Great Lakes Association of Astronomy Clubs (GLAAC) presents their 13th Annual Astronomy at the Beach. Friday & Saturday, September 25th & 26th at Maple Beach, inside Kensington Metropark, from 6 pm - midnight (rain or shine) read more » 2009 PATS September 26-27 California, USA Be part of the most exciting astronomy and telescope show on the West Coast. Browse dozens of manufacturers and dealers of astronomical equipment, software, and accessories, all under one roof. Company representatives and, in some cases, owners will be available to answer your questions... read more »

post your own Star Party on CelestronLife.com »

Event Recaps
by Kevin Kawai

	Starfest Canada 2009 August 20-23rd
Starfest, the 28th annual celebration of astronomy, took place on August 20-23, 2009 at the River Place Park family campground site. Starfest is recognized as one of the top seven star parties in North America by Sky & Telescope magazine and is visibly Canada's largest annual observing convention and star party. Nearly 600 astronomy enthusiasts from Canada and the USA joined in with the festivities...
« photo GALLERY | read Blog entry »

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Welcome to the 6th issue of Celestron's 2009 Newsletter!

Whether it is starting a new hobby or a new career path, being a beginner can be quite intimidating. Most of us have been called a rookie, a newbie or n00b at some point... In this issue we would like to focus on these newcomers to the amateur astronomy scene and on the resources we make available to help you get started with this exciting and rewarding hobby.

Beginners Wanted!
Earlier this year, Celestron proudly introduced FirstScope, an ultimate beginner telescope. FirstScope was even declared an official product of, the International Year of Astronomy 2009! Today, we'd like to share with you a brand new video tour that provides a complete overview of this small but mighty telescope:

BEGINNINGS: Remember Your First Scope?

We all had to start somewhere. For Celestron, it all began almost 50 years ago when our founder, Tom Johnson, introduced the first ever consumer Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. We'd like to know where you started in this awesome hobby. Come to CelestronImages.com and share the pictures of your first Celestron equipment with the world. While at it, enter your image into the "My First Celestron Scope" contest for a chance to win your own FirstScope Telescope. visit contest page »

DIGGING DEEPER : Astrophotography 101

Astrophotography could be one of the most sophisticated tasks you ever perform with your scope. Yet it is probably the most rewarding one... Recent advances in Digital SLR technology made astrophotography much more accessible to the average consumer and sparked renewed interest in this exciting hobby. To get started, head over to CelestronLife.com and join the AstroPhotography User Group. There you will find a growing number of knowledgeable and friendly folks ready to share their experiences with you. Another great resource is Celestron's growing Knowledge Base. There you will find articles on how exactly to use your particular Celestron telescope for photography. Lastly, visit CelestronImages.com. There you can share your photography with the world and, most importantly, see astrophotos taken by others. Look at the optics they used to capture their images to learn about relative capabilities of various Celestron products. Don't hesitate to ask questions or leave comments. Most CelestronImages.com users love to trade tips with fellow astroimagers.

	Event Calendar C-Row Star-B-Q 2009 June 19 - 20 RepoGazer Observatory, Arizona The Huachuca Astronomy Club, in cooperation with Celestron and Starizona present: C-Row Star-B-Q at the RepoGazer Observatory (RGO), an All-Celestron Two-Day Star Party and BBQ in the High Southeastern Arizona Desert... read more » SCAE 2009 (Day 1) July 11th Oceanside, California SCAE Swap Meet, Movie, & Star Party. Yes, I said swap meet! This year we are mixing things up a little bit for our first SCAE Saturday! On Saturday, July 11th, we will host an astronomy swap meet in the OPT parking lot! read more » SCAE 2009 (Day 2) July 18th Oceanside, California Telescope & Astronomy Demonstration. On Saturday, July 18th, almost forty telescope, CCD, and other astronomy product manufacturers & organizations will be on hand at OPT to show off their latest and greatest gear, and you’re invited! read more »

Post your own Star Party on CelestronLife.com »

Event Recaps
by Kevin Kawai

	2009 RTMC May 22 - 24 Big Bear, CA
The 41st annual Riverside Telescope Makers Conference and Astronomy Expo took place on May 22 through May 25, 2009 (Memorial Day weekend) at Camp Oakes near Big Bear City. Located above the 7000 foot level, this well known Southern California astronomy event is held yearly at a YMCA campground nestled in the lush San Bernardino Mountains. Unlike last year, which an unexpected late season snow storm quickly brought RTMC 2008 to a standstill, we were blessed with clear skies, warmer days, cold nights and no Moon - just the right combinations for making a great star party...
« view photos | read Blog entry »

	Celestron Day At Orion June 06 Cupertino, CA
On Saturday, June 6, 2009, Orion Telescopes held its first ever "Celestron Day" in the parking lot of its retail store. Being an Orion customer myself for many years, I was excited upon hearing the news of a Celestron Day and jumped at the opportunity to travel to Northern California (Cupertino) to be a part of a collaborated event between Celestron and a fellow respected name in the telescope industry - Orion Telescopes. Celestron firmware Engineer, Derik DeVecchio, and I headed out the day before and yours truly had the privilege of driving the cargo van up Interstate 5 for the 7 hour drive from Los Angeles to Cupertino...
« view photos | read Blog entry »

• Purchase Optical Products
• Blogs, Forums, User Groups & More
• Astrophotography Community
• Personal Planetarium
• NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe

Welcome to the 8th issue of Celestron's 2009 Newsletter!

Celestron would like to congratulate the winners of the IYA 2009 One Hundred Hours of Astronomy Competition! Celestron is honored to be a part of this phenomenal global event which enabled more than a million people across the world to view through a telescope for the first time. Congratulations to everyone around the world who organized and participated in the events in your community and helped make 100 Hours of Astronomy a success.

Awards, which include Celestron’s SkyScout Personal Planetarium, were given out at the IAU General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 11, 2009, where Mike Simmons, Co-Chair of 100 Hours of Astronomy, publicly announced the winners at the 100 Hours of Astronomy Awards and Closing Ceremony. read more »

	Solar Eclipse 2009
	by Dark Matters

What a trip it was - 14 days, meeting many very nice people, both locals and foreigners, visiting Shanghai and 3 provinces, the Synta telescope factory at Suzhou, Purple Mt. Observatory at Nanjing.

And of course, the total solar eclipse!

That part of the adventure began with preparations here in the US, resulting in two complete photo rigs and approximately 20 lbs in photo gear. Everything was packed into one Jetpilot wheely bag of medium size plus a smallish Gregory Advent backpack. I had no troubles with the airline's size and weight restrictions...

« see Eclipse photos | read Blog entry »

NEW ON CELESTRON.COM: Related Products

Earlier this month we have launched a new version of our shopping cart. In addition to being faster and more user friendly, it features a list of products and accessories purchased by other users that bought the item you are looking at.

We hope that this addition will help you quickly locate the products and accessories for your particular application... comment on this »

SPOTLIGHT: Contest Winners "Discovered"

We are extremely proud to congratulate the winners of the "Capture the Universe" astrophotography contest sponsored by CelestronImages.com and Discover Magazine.

By entering this contest, you have shown that you share the same innate desire that drives us at Celestron to develop the tools needed to search, learn and share the world around us – and beyond.

Click here to view our brand new "Contest Winners Hall of Fame".

Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy.com, who judged the contest, was so impressed by the quality of the contest entries that a total of 11 of the photographs were featured on Discover Magazine's Website

« see Phil's Picks on CelestronImages.com | read Phil's blog entry »

We really hope you've enjoyed reading this newsletter.
Please submit your feedback here:
http://www.celestronlife.com/blogs/entry/2009-Newsletter-Issue-8

Clear Skies!

Celestron Marketing Team

	Event Calendar Starfest 2009 - A Celebration of Astronomy August 20-23 Ontario, Canada Starfest is Canada's largest annual observing conference and star party. It attracts over nine hundred astronomy enthusiasts from Ontario, and neighboring provinces and states. It has been ranked among the top star parties in North America by Sky and Telescope magazine. read more »

Event Recaps
by Kevin Kawai

	SCAE 2009 July 18th Oceanside, California
Here we are again in the middle of summer and for us Californians, July means warm, sunny blue skies, sandy beaches, summer Milky Way and Oceanside Photo and Telescope's Southern California Astronomy Expo (SCAE)! How quickly an entire year has rolled around since the last SCAE 2008! This past Saturday, July 18, 2009, OPT Boss, Craig Weatherwax, hosted the 5th Annual SCAE event and invited down nearly 40 vendors of astronomical related gear to showcase their latest wares to the public. Just a week earlier, OPT held a very successful parking lot swap meet, followed by a film presentation and vendor star party at nearby Palomar College...
« photo GALLERY | read Blog entry »

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