Frequently
Asked Questions
What is a point?
A ‘point’ is iTelescope currency. Your membership plan comes with a set number of points. When you join to a new plan or when your membership plan renews you accumulate ‘points’ in your account, and you can even buy additional points if you are running low.
Each iTelescope system has an hourly imaging rate expressed in ‘points per imaging hour‘, this is the cost of using one hour of exposure time on that given telescope. Each Telescope has it own hourly rate, which is influenced by your membership plan and the illumination of the moon. Typically the higher the membership plan the lower the hourly imaging rate per telescope. You can find the telescope rates here and on the launchpad.
You exchange your accumulated points for imaging time on an iTelescope system.
Example: If the telescope rate is 50 points per imaging hour and you have 100 points in your account, this means that you have 2 hours of imaging time on that given telescope.
You only pay for the imaging time you use, if you take 4 x 5 minutes of exposure you only pay for 20 minutes of imaging time in points, each time you use a telescope you consume your points along the way, simple!
How can I cancel my plan?
You are in full control of your account and at any stage you can upgrade, downgrade or even cancel your membership plan. We support Visa, Mastercard and Paypal. If you are from a company or government agency we accept purchase orders and invoicing, please contact [email protected] for more information.
I have a promotional or discount code?
How can I pay for Plans?
How can I reach out for more help?
Are the images calibrated?
Yes they are! You will receive both calibrated and raw images, we calibrate them for you. Alternatively, you can also calibrate them yourself, you have access to the calibration library on our data server where your images are located.
Where are my images located?
They are on the data server. Please also see here
How do I reserve time on a telescope?
All subscription plan accounts have access to our Reservation System.
To reserve time, begin by logging in to the Launchpad and selected the telescope you wish to use from the “Reservations” Drop Down Menu. Read more
Legally, who owns the data I produce?
All the images produced by our system is owned by you
Can I image comets and NEO’s?
Yes you can, and now it is easy! Please read here
Can I image planets?
We do not recommend imaging planets with iTelescope systems; the focal length is not sufficient, and the planets will appear very small and with poor resolution, it is best done with very long focal length optics and a high-speed video camera. We do have plans for the installation of planetary and solar iTelescope systems.
What happens to my unused monthly points?
Our Membership Plans provide a specific number of points which are credited to your account over a four week cycle. Any unused points in your account roll over and points can accumulate much like a bank account.
While you have an active Subscription, your points will never expire, however, if you do cancel your subscription, points are good for up to one year after your subscription expiration date.
This means that so long as you sign back up to a subscription within a year, your points essentially never expire.
If I switch my Membership Plan, what changes?
The cost per imaging hour for the telescopes is a direct benefit of the Subscription Plan you are on. If you join a higher Plan, the telescopes are cheaper to use. Likewise, if you switch to a lower Plan, the telescopes are more expensive to use. Also, higher plans are allowed a greater amount of booking time across the iTelescope network.
If I cancel my membership, do I lose my points?
When you cancel, please keep in mind that your current Cost Per Imaging Hour rates will continue at the reduced monthly plan rate until the end of your current subscription, at which point you will move to Standard Rates.
All points are valid for one (1) year following the end of your current subscription. Signing back up prior to the end of the year eliminates this limitation until such time as you cancel again, at which point the process will begin anew.
Do unused iTelescope credits roll over into the next month?
Yes they do! If you are under your point credit limit at the end of a billing period, the unused points roll over to the next billing period and accumulate!
Where can I locate my run logs?
When you take an image with iTelescope, 95% of the time the system will produce a Usage Receipt that will contain your logs and some of your images.
Where do I start? What's up there to Image?
Meet the iTelescope Planner
A new search window opens. You can select your site on the left and the date on your right. Object types can be selected below.
As an example we will choose the site “Siding Spring Observatory” and press search. As a search result, tonight’s objects appear below, the brightest ones come first. (Your page will look different, depending on your date). We could also choose any future date by filling out the “Date” window on the top right.
The objects are characterized in various green columns, first “Name” and “Preview”. The “Details” column shows information on their RA and DEC coordinates. The green icon allows you to directly copy the RA and DEC coordinates, one by one and paste them into telescope imaging page.
In most cases you can skip this step as the telescope will recognize the object name (e.g. NGC 253) and fill in the coordinates for you. Also shown are object magnitude, size and angle to the moon – the moon phase is automatically taken into account, and objects too close to the moon are eliminated.
The “Visibility” column shows you rise, transit and set times of the object (above an elevation of 30 degrees) which are essential for planning.
Which telescope should you choose? Click on the “More info” link dso-browser.com – recently renamed to Telescopius
This opens a new window directly in Telescopius. On the right you can see Hourly Elevation (your observation window is the black field and the curve above 30 degrees green dotted line) and by scrolling down you can find the Telescope Simulator –
Click on the iTelescope icon to choose the right telescope by comparing various fields of view.
Finally, on the right-hand side you can use the data sheet for telescope coordinates – just switch to decimal format before you copy.
Which telescopes can I use?
You have access to all telescopes when you are on a subscription plan. Here is an overview.
iTelescope – New Mexico Skies, USA
| New Mexico Telescopes | FOV in Degrees | Filters | OTA | Camera Position Angle | Min Elevation in degrees | Observatory Code |
| Telescope 2 | 0.79 | NA (color CCD) | Takahashi TOA-150 | 179.8 | 25 | H06 |
| Telescope 5 | 1 x 0.57 | RGB and Ha, SII, OIII, Clear and Johnsons-Cousins BVI | Takahashi Epsilon 250 | 3.6 | 20 | H06 |
| Telescope 11 | 0.9 x 0.6 | AstroDon LRGB, 3nm Ha, SII, OIII, UBVRI | Planewave 20″ CDK | 186.9 | 20 | H06 |
| Telescope 14 | 3.89 x 2.67 | LRGB, Ha, SII, OIII and V | Takahashi 106 FSQ Fluorite | 91.5 | 25 | H06 |
| Telescope 20 | 3.89 x 2.67 | LRGB, Ha, SII, and OIII | Takahashi 106 FSQ-ED | 88.1 | 25 | H06 |
| Telescope 21 | 0.81 x 0.54 | LRGB, Ha, SII, OIII, Johnsons-Cousins UBVRcIc | Planewave 17″ CDK | 358.9 | 20 | H06 |
| Telescope 68 | 2.13 x 1.4 | NA (color CCD) | Celestron RSA 11 | 277.2 | 20 | H06 |
iTelescope – Sierra Remote Observatory, USA
| California Telescope | FOV | Filters | OTA | Camera Position Angle | Min Elevation in degrees | Observatory Code |
| Telescope 24 | 0.53 | AstroDon LRGB, 3nmHa, 3nmSII, 3nmOIII, Johnsons-Cousins V and Ic | Planewave 24″ CDK | 88.5 | 25 | U69 |
iTelescope – Siding Spring, Australia
| Siding Spring Telescopes | FOV | Filters | OTA | Camera Position Angle | Min Elevation in degrees | Observatory Code |
| Telescope 8 | 3.98 | AstroDon LRGB, 5nmHA, 5nmSII, 5nmOIII, 5nmNIR, and ExoPlanet Filter | Takahashi FSQ106 EDX | 1 | 35 | Q62 |
| Telescope 9 | 3.1 | Astrodon – Lum, Red, Green, Blue, Ha, SII, OIII | Tele Vue NP127fli Refractor | 359.3 | 30 | Q62 |
| Telescope 12 | 3.9 x 2.59 | LRGB, Ha, SII, OIII | Takahashi 106 FSQ ED | 176.1 | 30 | Q62 |
| Telescope 17 | 0.26 | AstroDon Clear, LRGB, UVBRI, 6nm Ha, OIII, SIII (953.1/10nm) and Helium HEII (1012.2/10nm) Astrodon Sloan g2r2i2z2 and Star Analyser 200 Spectroscopic Gratin (use ‘Custom” Filter Slot and Name for SA200) | Planewave 17″CDK | 178.4 | 35 | Q62 |
| Telescope 30 | 0.69 x 0.46 | AstroDon Tru-Balance (Gen2 E) LRGB, 5nmHa, 5nmSII, 5nmOIII, UBVRI | Planewave 20″ CDK | 90.8 | 20 | Q62 |
| Telescope 31 | 0.93 | AstroDon E-Series LRGB, 5nmHa, 5nmSII, 5nmOIII, V, Rc, Ic | Planewave 20″ CDK | 92 | 20 | Q62 |
| Telescope 32 | 0.72 | Astrodon E-Series. Red, Green, Blue, Luminance, 5nmHa, 5nmSII, 5nmOIII, Johnsons-Cousins V, Ic | Planewave 17″ CDK | 90 | 30 | Q62 |
| Telescope 33 | 0.73 | Astrodon I-Series LRGB, 5nmHa, 5nmSII, 5nmOIII | ASA 16″ 0.4m | 178.9 | 32 | Q62 |
iTelescope – Astrocamp, Spain
| Spain Telescopes | FOV | Filters | OTA | Camera Position Angle | Min Elevation in degrees | Observatory Code |
| Telescope 7 | 0.7 x 0.48 | Lum, Johnsons-Cousins RVB, Ha, OII, SIII, Johnsons-Cousins I | Planewave 17″CDK | 275.2 | 35 | I89 |
| Telescope 16 | 1.93 | Luminance, R, V, B | Takahashi TOA-150 | 158.7 | 30 | I89 |
| Telescope 18 | 0.62 x 0.41 | AstroDon Series E LRGB, AstroDon 10nm Ha, SII, OIII, and Johnsons-Cousins V | Planewave 12″CDK | 314.6 | 40 | I89 |