TELESCOPE PIONEER MARKS MILESTONE, CONTINUES TO LEAD IN PROVIDING INNOVATIVE OPTICAL PRODUCTS
TORRANCE, CA – (January 4, 2010) – Celestron is celebrating 50 years of successful telescope innovation throughout 2010. The company, founded in 1960 by electronics engineer, Tom Johnson, started as an astro-optical division of Mr. Johnson’s aerospace electronics firm, Valor Electronics. While searching for a suitable telescope for his two young sons, Tom decided to build a telescope from scratch. Starting with a 6-inch reflector, he progressed to building increasingly larger and more sophisticated designs. Tom’s hobby soon grew into a full-time business, offering Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes in 4-inch to 22-inch models.
Tom’s vision of building an affordable Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope system has evolved into an undisputed industry leading company in the telescope arena. Today, Celestron has grown to enjoy worldwide brand name recognition and a reputation for innovative, reliable optical equipment. “Celestron’s 50th anniversary is a great milestone. When you sit down and consider what Tom Johnson accomplished, you can’t help but be proud and impressed at his vision, leadership and innovation.” said Joseph A. Lupica Jr., president and CEO of Celestron “Today, Celestron employees carry on Tom’s forward-thinking legacy.”
Throughout the world, Celestron telescopes have become the “telescope of choice” for the consumer that can differentiate between brands. Major observatories, planetariums, colleges and universities worldwide use Celestron telescopes in their astronomy programs. Moreover, its solid and esteemed reputation in the scientific community has reached NASA, who selected Celestron’s C5 telescope as the telescope to be taken on several space shuttle research missions. During the 2009 International Year of Astronomy, the White House held the first documented star party on the White House lawn. President Barak Obama and first lady, Michelle Obama, viewed celestial objects through a Celestron CPC 800.
Throughout 2010, Celestron invites you to visit our special 50th anniversary website where you will find an interactive timeline on Celestron’s history and other notable events in the astronomical community. The website will also feature limited edition 50th anniversary products and apparel, as well as contests and giveaways to celebrate this special milestone. Celestron will also be releasing a 6 part documentary during 2010 entitled “The Path of Light”. This documentary will give you a look back at Celestron’s beginnings and move you forward through 50 years of Celestron’s notable achievements in products, outreach and the astronomical community.
With 50 years under their belt, Celestron is looking toward the future, confident in continuing to focus on engineering innovation and design excellence in all of our product offerings. “We’ve been fortunate in our success over the past 50 years, and would sincerely like to thank our dedicated customers, dealers and employees for putting their trust in Celestron. We couldn’t have done this without you.” said Joseph A. Lupica Jr. “We have many plans ahead to show our support to the astronomical community, continue our dedication to grow astronomy and to engineer products that will be enjoyed for many years to come. It’s going to be a very exciting year!”
Help us celebrate by visiting Celestron’s 50th Anniversary Website www.celestron.com/50 and signing our guest book!
About Celestron
Since designing its first telescope in 1960, Celestron has grown to become the world’s leading telescope maker, and enjoys brand name recognition for
superior optics, outstanding design, and innovative technology. For five decades, Celestron has been recognized as a leading designer, manufacturer and importer of high-quality optical
products including computerized and non-computerized telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and related accessories. Celestron’s innovative products continue to receive
numerous industry and consumer media accolades, adding to an already impressive list that includes awards for product innovation from Reader’s Digest, Popular Science, PC Magazine, Popular
Mechanics, Sky & Telescope, the Consumer Electronics Association and more. Celestron sells and markets its products worldwide through a variety of specialty retail outlets and
international distributors. Celestron is a privately held company with corporate offices and manufacturing facilities, in Torrance, CA. For more information about Celestron please visit
http://www.celestron.com.
Celestron’s EdgeHD, LCD Deluxe Digital Microscope and Digital Handheld LCD Microscope Are Selected Innovations Honoree’s In Personal Electronics
TORRANCE, CA – (January 1, 2010) – Celestron, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and related accessories, has done it again. This time taking home three honoree awards in Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering in the Personal Electronics product category by the Consumer Electronics Association. The awards went to the EdgeHD 800 Optical Tube Assembly, LCD Deluxe Digital Microscope and the Handheld LCD Digital Microscope.
Celestron’s EdgeHD is the newest flagship line of aplanatic Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, specially designed for photographing celestial objects. What sets EdgeHD apart from the others is that this optical system is designed with a coma-free flat focal plane all the way to the edge of the field of view. The result is a visibly sharper photograph that guarantees you visibly sharp stars across some of the largest CCD chips available today. With the growing interest in astrophotography, Celestron has made it easier and more affordable for consumers to take amazing photos of the night sky!
With the huge success of touch screen technology, Celestron has incorporated this feature into one of their newest microscopes; the LCD Deluxe Digital Microscope. The LCD Deluxe Digital Microscope is the first of its class with a touch screen and rotatable 180° panel for view sharing, a built-in digital camera for images and video, flash memory of 512MB for storage, and an SD card slot to upload your images to your computer.
Another new Celestron microscope Honoree winner, the Handheld Digital LCD Microscope is just as unique. This sleek, ready-to-go, palm size microscope is battery operated with a 2.4” LCD screen to view objects. Equipped with camera and video features, as well as an SD card slot for extra storage, this microscope is fun to take anywhere. With the LCD Deluxe Digital Microscope and Handheld LCD Digital Microscope, you no longer have to be limited by looking through the eyepiece of a microscope!
“We are thankful to the CEA and the Innovations judges for honoring our company with these awards. We are proud to know that our optical products have captured the engineering award in two categories; telescopes and microscopes. Celestrons’ EdgeHD optical system is the most versatile, affordable imaging telescope available today”, said Joseph A. Lupica Jr., president and CEO of Celestron. “Our two new microscopes, the Deluxe Digital LCD Microscope and Handheld Digital LCD Microscope showcase that Celestron is dedicated to staying on the cutting edge of technology in the microscope industry. All three honorees are unique in their own way, but all have one thing in common, to keep users captivated as the physical world is revealed like never before.”
All three Celestron Award Honoree winners will be displayed during the 2010 International CES, January 7-10, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV at Celestron booth #7912, and Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase in the Grand Lobby at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
For a list of dealer locations and updates, please go to http://www.celestron.com.
About Celestron
Since designing its first telescope in 1960, Celestron has grown to become the world’s leading telescope maker, and enjoys brand name recognition for
superior optics, outstanding design, and innovative technology. For five decades, Celestron has been recognized as a leading designer, manufacturer and importer of high-quality optical
products including computerized and non-computerized telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and related accessories. Celestron’s innovative products continue to receive
numerous industry and consumer media accolades, adding to an already impressive list that includes awards for product innovation from Reader’s Digest, Popular Science, PC Magazine, Popular
Mechanics, Sky & Telescope, the Consumer Electronics Association and more. Celestron sells and markets its products worldwide through a variety of specialty retail outlets and
international distributors. Celestron is a privately held company with corporate offices and manufacturing facilities, in Torrance, CA. For more information about Celestron please visit
http://www.celestron.com.
TORRANCE, CA – (October 13, 2009) – Celestron® the world’s leading telescope maker and global sponsor of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, applauds the White House and President Barack Obama for their support of astronomy and science education. On Wednesday, October 8, 2009, President Barack Obama and the first lady Michelle Obama hosted what is believed to be the first star party ever to be held at the White House.
President Obama kicked-off the event with a brief address that was streamed live on the whitehouse.gov website. The program at the White House included more than 20 telescopes set up on the White House lawn focused on Jupiter, the Moon and select stars. President Obama, under the direction of his science advisor John Holdren, viewed a double-star in the constellation Lyra through a Celestron CPC 800 computerized telescope. “Celestron commends President Obama for his commitment to science education and support of astronomy. It is imperative that we all work together to bring awareness to our next generation about our place in the universe and the contributions that amateur astronomers can make to modern astronomy.” said Joseph A. Lupica Jr, President and CEO of Celestron.
This star party was held to mark the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009), which celebrates the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first use of a telescope. "What will your great discovery be?" Obama asked the students before viewing through the telescope. "Galileo changed the world when he pointed his telescope to the sky. Now it's your turn. We need your restless curiosity," the president said. Obama, his wife Michelle, and a group of 150 local middle-school students attended. Also in attendance were two 15-year-old amateur astronomers, Caroline Moore, who at age 14 became the youngest person to discover a supernova, and Lucas Bolyard, who discovered a rare type of ultra-dense star known as a pulsar. Former astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Sally Ride and Mae Jemison, and current astronaut John Grunsfeld joined the historical event as well.
Visit the websites below for information on other notable IYA events happening in 2009:
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TORRANCE, CA – (July15, 2009) – Celestron®, the world's leading designer and manufacturer of telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and related accessories, is announcing the release of its newest line of aplanatic Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, the EdgeHD Series. EdgeHD is perfect for photographing the stars.
You may have seen beautiful images of the night sky and have wondered if it's even possible for you to take such amazing photos. It is possible and Celestron is making it easier and more
affordable for the amateur astronomer or photographer looking for a new art form. After the much-anticipated release of the new CGE Pro Mount especially designed with the astrophotographer
in mind; Celestron introduces its new optical line, the EdgeHD Series, with true Astrograph qualities for sharper more clear photographs giving you the clear edge.
What sets EdgeHD apart from the others? While some telescope optical designs can produce pinpoint stars across a curved focal plane, stars will appear out of focus at the edge of view when
used with a flat chip sensor of a digital camera. The EdgeHD optical system is designed with a coma-free flat focal plane all the way to the edge of the field of
view. EdgeHD optics produce a focal plane more than three-times flatter than a standard Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and dramatically flatter than other competing coma-free designs. The
result is a visibly sharper photograph that guarantees you visibly sharp stars across some of the largest CCD chips available today.
“The hobby of astrophotography is rapidly growing. People want to capture what they see through the telescope lens. Celestron is committed to creating innovative technology for the consumer; we have done that with the EdgeHD." said Joseph A. Lupica Jr., president and CEO of Celestron, “It has superior edge performance that not only creates rounder, more pleasing stars, but actually improves the resolution and limiting magnitude when compared to other scopes of equal aperture, this produces amazing clarity for astrophotographers.“
In addition to Celestron's new optimized optical design there are many new mechanical features engineered for better performance:
Visit www.celestron.com/EdgeHD to learn more about the EdgeHD and see side-by-side comparisons of images taken with standard
optics versus the new EdgeHD optics.
For a list of dealer locations and updates, please go to www.celestron.com
About Celestron
Celestron is the worlds leading designer, manufacturer and importer of high-quality optical products including computerized and non-computerized telescopes and related accessories,
binoculars, spotting scopes and microscopes. Since manufacturing its first telescope in 1960, Celestron has grown to become one of the world's leading telescope makers, and enjoys
brand-name recognition among serious amateur astronomers for superior optics, outstanding design, and innovative technology. Celestron's innovative products continue to receive
numerous industry and consumer media accolades, adding to an already impressive list that includes awards for product innovation from Reader's Digest, Popular Science,
PC Magazine, Popular Mechanics, the Consumer Electronics Association and more. Celestron sells and markets its products worldwide through a variety of specialty
retail outlets and international distributors. Celestron is a global sponsor of International Year of Astronomy 2009. Celestron is a privately held company with corporate offices and
manufacturing facilities, in Torrance, CA. For more information about Celestron please visit http://www.celestron.com.
The All-Star Polar Alignment Technology will be available to download with the latest firmware update.
TORRANCE, CA - (February 20, 2009) - Celestron® one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and related accessories, has announced that their All-Star Polar Alignment Technology will be available for download for all Celestron Advanced GT and CGE Telescopes. The hand control upgrade is easy and can be done right from home. The firmware can be downloaded and installed using our HCupdate application available from the Celestron website.
Polar alignment is the process of aligning the telescope with the Earth's rotation. Once done, this will allow you to easily track celestial objects. Select Celestron telescopes can utilize this Polar alignment procedure called "All-Star", which allows users to choose any bright star from the hand control, while the software calculates and assists with polar alignment. Celestron's All-Star Polar Alignment method is more accurate than older methods of alignment and more accurate than using an optical finderscope attached to the mount. Since the stars you can use are farther away from the North Pole, there is a higher degree of accuracy.
The software will be available for our older CGE Series, Celestron's line of observatory class Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, offered in 8" 9.25, 11" and 14" apertures. It will also be available for our line of Advanced Series family of computerized GoTo telescopes, offered in 6", 8", 9.25", 10" and 11" apertures.
"The biggest advantage of having All-Star Technology is that you no longer have to rely on using the North Star to align your telescope. With All-Star you can use a variety of bright stars in various locations in the sky", said Joseph A. Lupica Jr, President and CEO of Celestron.
Please visit www.celestron.com/downloads for details on how to download latest firmware update that includes All-Star Polar Alignment and for more detailed instructions.
100 Hours of Astronomy is a 100-hour, round-the-clock, round-the-globe event that includes live webcasts from research observatories, public observing events and is designed to bring
astronomy to the public around the world.
Celestron is also sponsoring the opening ceremony of 100 Hours of Astronomy at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA on April 2nd. This weekend will also be the grand
opening of the much-anticipated exhibition Galileo, The Medici and The Age of Astronomy. This exhibition features many Galileo artifacts including one of the two remaining
telescopes built and used by Galileo. Paolo Galluzzi, Director of the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy which is loaning the artifacts to the Franklin
Institute for this exhibition, will be on hand to speak about the importance of Galileo's telescopes and the discoveries he made with them as we look back 400 years to Galileo's time. This
sets the stage for our 100-hour journey through time and space to modern telescopes around the world and in space.
This special event will be webcast live and Celestron will be conducting star parties throughout the 100 Hours of Astronomy weekend during the opening ceremony festivities.
Visit http://www.100hoursofastronomy.org/ to find an event in your area – or to get resources and information to plan one
in your community!
The World’s First Digital Microscope For Hobbyists Selected Innovations Honoree In Personal Electronics For Enabling Consumers to Get An Up Close Look At Unseen Worlds
TORRANCE, CA – (November 11, 2008) – Celestron®, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and related accessories, is opening up a new frontier of exploration for everyday science enthusiasts with the unveiling of its LCD Digital Microscope®. The LCD Digital Microscope was selected as an Innovations 2009 Design and Engineering Award honoree in the Personal Electronics product category by the Consumer Electronics Association.
The Celestron LCD Digital Microscope will be displayed during the 2009 International CES, January 8-11, 2009 in Las Vegas, NV in Celestron’s booth, #72814, at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, as well as in the Innovations 2009 Showcase, booth #72062, and Innovations Plus at the Sands Expo and Convention Center/The Venetian. Designed for use by everyone with an urge to expand their sphere of knowledge through exploration, Celestron’s LCD Digital Microscope combines all of the powerful features of a professional grade microscope with an easy-to-use, fully- integrated, high-resolution 3.5” LCD screen, giving users the ability to view, capture and save vibrant, high-resolution images and video of Earth’s most magnificent microscopic specimens.
“We are thankful to the CEA and the innovations judges for honoring our company with this award. the LCD Digital Microscope incorporates many of the advanced features found on
Celestron’s line of professional microscopes to provide a powerful and easy-to-use tool that is ideal for all amateur scientists, from seasoned enthusiasts to those just beginning their
scientific exploration,” said Joseph A. Lupica Jr., president and CEO of Celestron. “With the flexibility to not only view, but capture photos and video of both prepared slides and
everyday objects through the seamlessly integrated 3.5” viewing screen, the LDM is an amazing all-in-one product that will keep users captivated as the physical world is revealed like never
before.”
Engineered with an objective lens that provides three different magnification levels (4x, 10x, and 40x), 4X digital zoom functionality, a six position color filter wheel, top and bottom LED Illumination, 128MB internal storage memory and a built-in 2MP digital camera, the LDM is capable of capturing images and short videos of specimens at magnification levels up to 1600 times their original size. The LDM is an ideal tool for examining everything from stamps, coins and other common objects to specimen slides of yeasts, molds, cultures, fibers, bacteria, and animal parts up close using the powerful digital zoom feature.
With a suggested retail price of $299.99, Celestron’s LCD Digital Microscope comes with five prepared slides, an AC power adaptor, a carrying case, a USB cable for transferring images to a PC and has been available at specialty retailers nationwide since April 2008. For a list of dealer locations and updates, please go to http://www.celestron.com.
CELESTRON® IS HONORED TO HAVE THE AWARD WINNING SKYSCOUT® PERSONAL PLANETARIUM® NAMED THE OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF IYA2009
TORRANCE, CA - (November 5, 2008) - Celestron®, the world's leading designer and manufacturer of telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and related accessories, announced that their award-winning SkyScout Personal Planetarium has been declared the "Official Product" of International Year of Astronomy 2009 by the IYA organization. "Celestron's SkyScout is a must-have tool for astronomy beginners. Its high-quality features and educational value make it the perfect instrument to explore the sky during 2009, the International Year of Astronomy." said Pedro Russo, International Year of Astronomy Coordinator.
About the size of a camcorder and weighing less than 16 ounces, the SkyScout utilizes a consumer-friendly "point and shoot" GPS technology that enables stargazers to instantly identify and/or locate over 50,000 celestial objects in the sky with the press of a button and listen to commentary on the object and its history. The SkyScout also has a "locate" feature that allows users to select an object they wish to view (i.e. Mars) and the SkyScout, using illuminated arrows in the viewfinder, will point the user to the object. "After 400 years of telescopes comes another product that is bound to revolutionize educational astronomy. The sky will never be the same with Celestron's SkyScout." said Dr. Salim Ansari, Head of Information Systems and Education Support Service with the European Space Agency.
Celestron invites you to be a part of the IYA2009 global celebration. Worldwide events and activities are being planned to celebrate IYA2009; such as sidewalk astronomy events, planetarium shows, documentaries and traveling exhibits. "Celestron is proud to be a global sponsor of IYA2009. It is imperative that we increase scientific awareness to the general public and generate excitement for astronomy and the science community to our younger generation." said Joseph A. Lupica Jr, President and CEO of Celestron. "We need to increase knowledge and concern for the preservation of our dark skies and our historical astronomical sites. The International Year of Astronomy gives the citizens of the world a way to better understand how the impact of science and astronomy affects their daily lives and how they can help contribute to a more peaceful, knowledgeable society."
The expanding SkyScout Personal Planetarium family now features many new accessories; including high-quality, rechargeable SkyScout Speakers and SkyScout Expansion Cards (All About the Stars and Astronomy for Beginners). The SkyScout continues to be the easiest to use, most accurate and most reliable device of its kind on the market. Visit, www.celestron.com for detailed information on product features and availability.
Learn more about the International Year of Astronomy at the Celestron IYA2009 website: www.celestronlife.com/IYA09
Celestron’s new CGEM™ mount is creating quite a buzz with its stylish design and revolutionary Polar alignment procedure, All-Star™.
PHOTOKINA BOOTH – Hall 2/Booth #C-028
TORRANCE, CA – (September, 2008) – Celestron®, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and related accessories, has unveiled a new German equatorial mount called CGEM. The mount has a fresh, attractive, bold appearance and is capable of carrying Celestron’s higher-end SCT optical tubes (up to 11”) securely and vibration free which is ideal for both imaging and visual observing. CGEM was designed to be ergonomically friendly with large Altitude and Azimuth adjustment knobs for quick and easy polar alignment adjustment. CGEM has a new innovative Polar alignment procedure called All-Star. All-Star allows users to choose any bright star, while the software calculates and assists with polar alignment. Another great feature of the CGEM, sure to please astroimagers, is the Permanent Periodic Error Correction (PEC) which will allow users to train out the worm gears periodic errors, while the mount retains the PEC recordings.
For objects near the Meridian (imaginary line passing from North to South), the CGEM will track well past the Meridian for uninterrupted imaging through the most ideal part of the sky. The CGEM mount has a robust database with over 40,000 objects, 400 user defined programmable objects and enhanced information on over 200 objects.
“The CGEM mount is the perfect fit between Celestron’s Advanced Series and CGE Series. In addition, this mount is perfect for astroimagers with its ability to track well past the meridian.” said Joseph A. Lupica Jr., president and CEO of Celestron.
For a list of dealer locations and updates, please go to http://www.celestron.com.
Celestron’s CGEM will be on display in the Celestron booth located in Hall 2, booth C-028.