In grades school I can still remember getting my first microscope and telescope. Those became some of my favorite things to play with and explore the universe with. At the time, it made me think about becoming a scientist some day. Of course as time went on and the science classes got harder and harder… that dream of becoming a scientist started to fade. But nevertheless, there are some really cool products that my family and I love using so I wanted to share those with you.
Orion Moon Filter
A good moon filter can make quite a difference when looking at a moon through a telescope. The telescope my kids use is the Orion 8974. It’s a reflector telescope that has some special upgrades to help enhance your viewing experience. But one of the things it doesn’t include is a good mood filter.
The benefit of a moon filter is that it will help tone down the brightness so you can see more clearly and with more detail even the planets you’re trying to observe. The reason I like this particular moon filter by Orion is that it’s super affordable and it works great!
The only critique I might have about it is that at times I wish it didn’t block out quite so much light. But I’d rather have that be the problem then having things be overly bright. This is one of the items that I highly recommend to anyone who’s getting a telescope. It’s simple to add to the telescope and it really helps you have a much nicer viewing experience.
Celestron Power Tank
My favorite telescope to use is the Celestron NexStar 8. This is one amazing telescope! Although the Orion above is really nice, this is definitely a noticeable upgrade. There’s even a feature that helps you to align the telescope to the stars, it’s really cool!
But besides being a really great telescope, it allows you to hook up to a power tank (which is basically a portable power supply) so that you can take your telescope anywhere you like and have enough power to enjoy the night sky for a long while. You can even use it to charge things like phones since it has two USB charging ports. There’s also a bright red light you can use if you need to see where you’re going or just look for something.
I’ve used this power tank all night with no issues and without needing to charge it again. It just a really cool accessory to get with your Celestron telescope. It makes for a great emergency power station as well. We like to take our telescopes camping with us and I always bring this power bank along just for that reason. This has been one of those products that I wouldn’t hesitate to get again. We’ve been really happy with it.
NETSCOUT LRAT-HOLSTER
I wanted to be sure and include this holster because it took me a while to find this. If you happen to be someone who uses the NETSCOUT LRAT-2000 and you want something you can use to hold the netscout on your belt with, then this is a great holster to get. The bag that comes with the netscout is nice and it gives you room to hold other items with it.
But if you just want to carry the netscout and don’t want to just have it in your hand or in a sling around your shoulder then this is a really good option. This is definitely a niche item but for those of you who use these and have been looking for a holster that’s designed specifically for the netscout, I think you’ll be really happy with it.
The holder is pretty affordable, very durable and makes it easy to quickly access your netscout while you take it around with you. Definitely a helpful product!