chemitoffsYou pick a date
Just a pickup date and a phone number. No commitment, you pay nothing yet.
Rent a
telescope.
The night sky with your own eyes, at your own pace.
Prague and around
from CZK 2,600 / 3 evenings
The night sky with your own eyes, at your own pace.
The universe can't be downloaded or delivered. But you can rent a telescope for three evenings, drive out of town and look with your own eyes.
Forget the colourful Hubble galaxies. The Moon below was shot through this telescope on an ordinary phone; the other photos aren't mine, but I picked ones close to what your eye will see. These are the objects I found easiest to locate and that impressed me most. Live, the image is fainter and more delicate. But that light flies straight into your eye, and that's a different thing entirely from a screen.
The sky keeps changing, so for your dates I always tell you what's worth seeing those evenings. And if you want a preview, download the free Stellarium app. It shows you the sky for any day and place.
Sky-Watcher Dobson 8. I carry it in a Passat B6 estate: tube on the back seat, base in the boot. It fits in an ordinary car too, usually without folding the seats down. Together it weighs 26 kg. Carrying it from the car to a meadow or up a few flights of stairs is fine, you'll just be a little out of breath.
72 hours. Telescope with base, a set of eyepieces, tips on what's in the sky, and a walkthrough at handover so your first evening isn't spent searching.
The same kit, more time to practise.
Returned in full when the telescope comes back undamaged.
No car? I'll bring the telescope anywhere in Prague for CZK 500. Outside Prague +CZK 9/km, counted there and back. Picking it up in person is free.
Na Rozhraní 73/4, 190 00 Prague 9, Prosek. Both during the day, we agree the time by phone.
Just a pickup date and a phone number. No commitment, you pay nothing yet.
Within 24 hours. We confirm availability, arrange pickup or delivery, and I tell you what will be worth seeing those evenings.
You leave a CZK 5,000 deposit, we sign a simple contract and I show you everything: assembly, aiming, focusing. We try it out together. All in all it takes half an hour to an hour.
Three evenings, or the agreed week. Out of town if you like, after a darker sky. Whenever you get stuck, I'm on the phone.
If everything is in order, I return the deposit on the spot and in full. I take the telescope back. Not the experience.
A no-obligation enquiry. We confirm the date together by phone. The booking holds once we agree and you pay.
No. At handover I show you everything and we try it out together. And whenever you get stuck during the rental, I'm on the phone.
If the forecast is hopeless for all the days, we move or cancel the booking before pickup, free of charge. Once you've taken the telescope, the full price applies even if the weather fails.
You'll find the Moon on the first evening. The image in a telescope is upside down, so fine-tuning takes some getting used to. By the second evening it's automatic. That's exactly why I rent for three evenings, not one.
Download the free Stellarium app (phone and desktop). It shows you the sky for any day and place, so you'll know in advance what the evening holds. And I'll give you my own tips for your dates.
Yes, in an ordinary car. I carry it in a Passat B6: the tube on the back seat, the base in the boot. You usually don't need to fold the seats down.
Yes, anywhere in Prague for CZK 500. Outside Prague CZK 9/km, counted there and back. We arrange it by phone.
You leave the CZK 5,000 deposit at handover, by transfer or in cash, whichever suits you. When the telescope comes back undamaged, you get it back in full. Small scuffs and scratches I don't mind, that comes with lending. Damaged optics or mirror have to be paid for, and that's what the deposit is for.
The Moon and planets you'll see even from the city. For fainter objects like Andromeda it pays to drive just outside Prague, where light pollution ends. Happy to suggest a spot.