When it comes to telescope covers, the biggest name in the business is TeleGizmos. They haven’t completely cornered the market though, and if you look around you can find other companies offering their own products. One such example is Cygnus Astro.
Water off a duck’s back
Cygnus Astro offer a range of very competitively-priced covers made from a single-layer of breathable nylon, neatly stitched with 100% polyester thread.
Covers like this are useful because they mean you can leave your kit set up outside for long periods of time, so when you have a clear night you’re already good to go and can get imaging in mere minutes. This is key to achieving long integration times.
Cygnus Astro say that their medium-weight covers are suitable to use overnight for a few days in a row, while heavyweights are more robust and perfect for pier-mounted systems. I opted for a heavyweight, and have been using it for almost a year for near-24/7 protection of my telescope mount installed on a pier.
Being in the UK, my Cygnus Astro cover has been exposed to rain, sun, snow, then more rain. It hasn’t let through a single drop of water. The cover is only made from one layer however, which may be a concern if your climate is more hostile. During a recent summer heatwave, some of the black colour was bleached out, leaving a patch that’s slightly lighter – purely cosmetic, but worth noting.
As a bonus, it also offers me good protection against the local seagulls that like to use my telescope pier as target practise. If any of the feathered fiends score a “direct hit”, I can easily wipe their success away with a damp cloth.
If you plan on leaving your mount outside for prolonged periods of time under any kind of cover, a top tip is to apply a little ACF-50 anti-corrosion spray to a cloth and then gently rub a very thin coating onto the mount. This will help keep moisture at bay. Reapply every six months.
Made to order
Cygnus Astro are based in the UK, but ship internationally. A small company, covers are made to order. This is both good and bad: you can ask for a bespoke size perfect for your equipment, but production and delivery times can be slower than with mass-produced items. As a reference point, my Cygnus Astro cover was delivered three weeks after placing an order.
If you want a cover but aren’t in a hurry, and are ok with it not being multi-layered, then Cygnus Astro are well worth a look. I’m certainly a happy customer!
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Hello 🙂
Is the cover still holding up?
Best,
Per
It’s still 100% waterproof! I’ve also bought a second, larger Cygnus Astro cover for when I need to protect my big Askar 130PHQ telescope.
Hi Lee
Thanks for your answer and good to hear you are still happy with the covers.
I am wondering about their lack of a reflective layer, don’t they get really hot in bright sun? Can the mount/telescope handle that?
Best,
Per
I’ve never had any issues, and my telescope and mount have been through some pretty extreme conditions! Note that my ‘scope isn’t under the cover 24/7 — it’s often stored inside, but I leave it set up but under the cover during the day if I’ve got several nights of clear skies forecast. The mount is always outside though, under a cover when not in use.