Recently in Ground Floor Exhibitors Category

The innovative AstroTrac TT320X is an ultra-precise and compact equatorial tracking mount - the perfect solution to allow you to spend more time doing astrophotography and less time setting up your DSRL. For serious astrophotography on the move, try the unique, ultra-portable AstroTrac travel system, comprising of the TT320X, the TH3010 compact head, the TW3100 super compact wedge and the TP3065 ultra portable pier, allowing you take your DSLR and a small telescope anywhere you want. There will be a 10 percent AstroFest discount. 

Visit AstroTrac Ltd at stand 58 and find out more at www.astrotrac.com.

Dating back to 1675, the Royal Observatory, Greenwich is the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian. It won the gold award at the Visit London Awards in 2009, thanks partly to their £15.2 million Time and Space galleries and the Peter Harrison Planetarium. 

Find out more about the ROG at stand 18 and online at www.nmm.ac.uk/places/royal-observatory.

A UK manufacturer of prestige hydrogen-alpha solar filters, manufactured on the Isle of Man. Visit Solarscope at stand 17 and find out more at www.solarscope.co.uk.

We'll be at AstroFest of course, with a full range of back issues going way back, plus a variety of posters, mission patches, subscription discounts and our famed special editions, including The 3D Universe, Hubble Reborn and the 2010 Yearbook. Look out for special offers on some of these items, or pop by and chat with the editors.

Find us at stand 16 and visit our website at www.astronomynow.com.

Ireland's leading centre for astronomical education, the Armagh Planetarium are back at AstroFest with their usual selection of fun astro-gifts, from books to posters, to globes and the IYA Galileoscope (left) - a 50mm, f/10 refracting telescope plus a 20mm eyepiece (25x) and a 2x Barlow lens for only £30.

Visit Armagh Planetarium at stand 15 and see more at www.armaghplanet.com 

The Open University (OU) is the UK's only university dedicated to distance learning. Visit their stand to find out about their observational astronomy summer school in Mallorca, have some free sweets, and enter a draw for a £100 OU voucher. With most courses, including the Mallorca school, there are no previous qualifications required to study, and staff will happily advise you whether a course is at the right level for you. The OU teach more astronomy undergraduates than the rest of the UK higher education sector put together, and in total teach nearly double the number of undergraduates of the entire US Ivy League.

Visit the OU at stand 14 and learn more about the courses on offer at www.open.ac.uk.

British telescope manufacturer Orion Optics return to AstroFest with several models from their successful range of carbon-fibre telescopes range, including the CT (Ultra Newtonians) sporting ultra optics (1/10 wavefront) with Hi-Lux coatings in 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16-inch apertures sizes; the ODK (Optimised Dall-Kirkham) telescopes perfect for both visual and photographic astronomers, available in 10, 12, 14 and 16-inch apertures; and the Advanced Astrographs (AG), a 'dream machine' for deep sky astrophotographers with remarkably flat fields, cooling fans fitted as standard, 79mm back focus, and available in 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16-inch apertures.

Visit Orion Optics UK at stands 10-13 and find out more at www.orionoptics.co.uk.

As Celestron's official UK importers, David Hinds Ltd will have at AstroFest the brand new 

EdgeHD optical system - their most eagerly anticipated astronomical product since the SkyScout. The EdgeHD optical system takes all the compact power of a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and combines it with an improved high definition optical system for wide-field, astrograph quality images. Prices range from £1,599-£12,999.

Visit David Hinds Ltd at stands 7-9 and find out more at www.celestron.uk.com

The Astronomy and Nature Centre stock every astro-accessory from the smallest filter to research-grade observatory domes. Browse and buy with their special show discounts - they will have tons of special offers on accessories to take away, as well as interactive displays of the latest telescopes from Meade to Sky-Watcher. On display will also be the latest observatory domes from Pulsar Observatories and new observatory hardware from Astro Engineering, made in the UK. Visit The Astronomy and Nature Centre at stands 4-6 and learn more at www.astronomyandnature.com. 

The UK's official importers of Meade telescopes, mounts and accessories. Visit BC&F on stands 1-3 and find out more at: www.meade.uk.com.