Recently in Lower Floor Exhibitors Category

The British Astronomical Association (BAA) has had an international reputation for the quality of its observational and scientific work ever since the society was formed in 1890. Visit stand 40-41 to find out how you can become a member and see online at http://britastro.org.

The Swansea-based astronomy retailers who 'sell almost everything' will be at AstroFest with a big range of Kson and Eklipse telescopes and mounts, plus the Skysurfer dome and a Paramount ME on display.

Visit Telescope Planet on stands 34-39 and find out more at www.telescopeplanet.co.uk. 

Suppliers of quality astro-equipment from North Norfolk, Altair Astro will have on display some ground-breaking new products at special prices for orders placed at the show, including:

• The iOptron Minitower: £40 off the normal price of £699 (shown left)
• The Altair 8-inch Pier: £40 off the normal price of £495
• The SkyShed POD 2.4 metre Personal Observatory Dome: £100 off if ordered with a pier
• The Altair Astro 8-inch F4 Imaging Newtonian: £30 off normal price of £485
• The Altair Astro 102mm F6.5 Triplet APO refractor: £60 off normal price of £999
• Plus 10% off new Altair hardware system

One of the leading European manufacturers of cooled CCD cameras, Atik are bringing to AstroFest their brand new camera, the 8Mb Atik 383L+, shown here. This ground-breaking new CCD, featuring the huge Kodak KAF 8300 sensor, will be available to view and pre-order at AstroFest, and will be available via authorised Atik dealers throughout Europe later in the year.

Visit Atik Cameras at stands 29-31 and find out more at www.Atik-Cameras.com.

The Society for Popular Astronomy (SPA), one of the largest amateur societies in the UK, has been bringing the excitement of the sky to astronomers of all ages for more than 50 years. Members benefit from a quarterly magazine Popular Astronomy, regular news circulars, advice, discounts on goods and places to visit, meetings, and much more. Go and see them at AstroFest and join for a special show price of only £12 - a saving of 25 percent on the normal annual fee.

Visit the SPA at stand 24 and find out more at www.popastro.com. 

Surrey's only dedicated astronomy centre will be at AstroFest with a selection of Meade, Celestron, Sky-Watcher, Vixen and William Optics telescopes, plus a range of accessories. 

Visit Astronomia at stands 22-23 and browse their full range of products at www.astronomia.co.uk 

Opticron are Vixen's official UK distributor and will be at AstroFest 2010 for the first time ever! In conjunction with a number of its vixen retailers, Opticron will be showing its range of alt-az and equatorial mounts, Starbook GOTO controllers and optical tubes. A limited number of top-of-the-range Atlux mounts will be available at a discounted price for orders placed at the show, while AstroFest will also see the European debut of the first of a new generation of Vixen mounts with a higher payload capability of up to 30 kilograms, an updated heavy-duty tripod and an all-new version of the Starbook controller.

Visit Opticron at stand 21.

An international society of amateur and professional astronomers specialising in the observation of double star and deep sky objects. Learn how to become a member by visiting stand 20 and find out more at www.webbdeepsky.com. 

Normally an online shop dedicated to astro-imaging, supplying CCDs, telescopes, accessories and mounting, Ian King Imaging will be at AstroFest with many items for sale, including the Lakeside Motorfocus unit (shown here) at a show price of £225, and the IKI 70mm f/6 ED apochromatic refractor and case for the special show price of £225.