Imaging the Universe with Team Celestron at AIC 2012

One of our favorite events each year is the Advanced Imaging Conference, where astroimagers from around the world gather to share techniques, show off their images, and see all the latest equipment from manufacturers like Celestron. This year’s conference took place at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Santa Clara in Silicon Valley, California.

Celestron brought four of our expert product managers to the show, so they could speak with attendees on an advanced level about Celestron equipment and answer their questions. It was interesting to listen in on these conversations and hear about the amazing things people are doing with Celestron products. We even met one person who worked for a lab that is researching ways to float an imaging telescope into the stratosphere using a balloon!

Telescopes

The CGE PRO 1400 HD telescope dominated our booth and commanded attention at the center of the exhibit hall. Attendees were surprised to learn that the CGE PRO 1100 HD and 1400 HD were among the most affordable telescopes on display at the show! The CGE PRO features Celestron’s EdgeHD technology, which is ideal for astroimaging as it produces an extremely flat field all the way to the edge of the frame. At the show, Celestron unveiled its latest whitepaper, telling the story of EdgeHD technology, how it works, and how it stacks up against more expensive competitor products. Imagers snapped up the whitepapers to read on the plane ride home! Soon, we’ll offer a PDF of the whitepaper for download here on our website.

Cameras and Other New Products

Team Celestron was also extremely proud to showcase 3 new products that astroimagers have been waiting for: our Nightscape 8300 CCD camera, the NexImage 5 solar system imager, and reducers for the 11 inch EdgeHD and 14 inch EdgeHD telescopes. Visitors to the booth could get hands-on with these new products and see them installed on our telescopes. We also featured a slideshow of images taken with our new cameras.

Workshops

This year’s sold-out show featured so many interesting workshops, our team had to split up to make sure we could attend as many as possible! I was fortunate enough to attend “The ABCs of Image Processing,” presented by renowned astroimager Bob Fera. Bob went through his entire workflow for processing astroimages from start to finish, sharing tips and tricks to get the most out of an image. Bob emphasized the importance of not “crossing the line” when processing astroimages—he demonstrated how to keep the image photorealistic and avoid overprocessing.

Thanks to everyone who helped put together the Advanced Imaging Conference 2012! We look forward to representing Celestron again next year. To view all our photos from AIC 2012, check out our Flickr page! And to learn more about AIC, visit their website at http://www.aicccd.com.

-Andrea Tabor
Social Media Coordinator