Astrozap Artificial Star (AZ-1600) A bright, steady point source for star-testing and collimating telescopes in place of a real star, free of star drift and atmospheric seeing. Defocused, it produces clear diffraction rings that make collimation errors easy to see.
Manufacturer model: Astrozap Artificial Star AZ-1600 · Specifications checked against manufacturer data on 2026-11-03
A bright, steady point source for star-testing and collimating telescopes in place of a real star, free of star drift and atmospheric seeing. Defocused, it produces clear diffraction rings that make collimation errors easy to see.
Use
Place the star well away from the telescope; Astrozap recommends about 100 ft (30 m) for an 8" SCT, further being better until contrast falls. It sits on a table or mounts on a photo tripod using the 1/4-20 thread underneath, and suits star parties as it never moves.
Astrozap Artificial Star (AZ-1600) A bright, steady point source for star-testing and collimating telescopes in place of a real star, free of star drift and atmospheric seeing. Defocused, it produces clear diffraction rings that make collimation errors easy to see.
Manufacturer model: Astrozap Artificial Star AZ-1600 · Specifications checked against manufacturer data on 2026-11-03
