Picture life at Lunatico and you'll probably imagine Jaime, our owner and developer, crouched over a laptop working on the next software release, or in the lab soldering the prototype of the next CloudWatcher. That's certainly part of the story—but only part of it.
Size matters
At least it does when it comes to observatories. A really big telescope needs a really big dome, and that brings plenty of challenges for the motors and their control software. When a customer in the US needed an expert to develop the software for their latest six-meter dome, who did they call? Jaime paid a site visit to check on the installation—we'd love to share the client's name, but we wouldn't want the Men in Black knocking on your door.
There are telescopes, and there are telescopes…
And then there are telescopes from Deep Sky Instruments. If you check out DSI's website, the first link on their homepage brings you right back to us: Lunatico is proud to work with DSI to provide control systems for their RCOS range of products.
It takes a herculean effort to get that perfect image
Good news, then, that there's an appropriately named Canadian company out there doing exactly that. Tear yourself away from Hercules' range of astrographs for a moment and you'll spot our name credited on their ultra-neat HTEC Commander.
Heading south
Having visited the US and Canada, it seemed only fair to head to the southern hemisphere—which is exactly what Jaime and Debora recently did, as guests of Diego Colonnello and his wife Eva. Fans of Dylan O'Donnell's YouTube channel "Star Stuff" will already recognise Diego from the March 2020 episode where he installed Dylan's dome, equipped, of course, with Lunatico products. Diego is something of a multi-talent: alongside building some of the best Newtonian telescopes in the business, he's also produced astounding micro-photography—the perfect counterpoint to images of the cosmos.
Two of Diego Colonnello's micro-photographs—the perfect counterpoint to images of the cosmos.
As you can see, there's never a dull moment at Lunatico. If you have a project you'd like us to be involved in, don't hesitate to get in touch via info@lunaticoastro.com.