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    Telescopes for Hire from £30/wk
    See the Moon in breathtaking detail. Watch the Great Red Spot swirl through Jupiter's atmosphere. See the rings of Saturn and countless other night sky treasures. Dark Sky Telescope Hire give you the opportunity to view the night sky in amazing detail with a dobsonian telescope. FIND OUT MORE >>
    Explore the Universe from your Back Garden!
    At the heart of our telescopes are high-performance optics. They capture light from objects in the night sky, magnify it and focus it to render a stunning high resolution image for your eyes to view. Find out more about what you'll be able to see >>
    Lunar Photography
    Take stunning images of the moon with your camera at the eyepiece of our telescopes. FIND OUT MORE >>
    Somerset Telescope Hire Base Now Open!
    Hire a telescope in Somerset and Devon. Hires from £40. Includes comprehensive night sky notes and object finder maps.
    Discover the Exmoor Dark Sky Experience
    Dark Sky Telescope Hire have teamed up with West Withy Farm Self Catering Cottages to offer a dark sky experience in one of the darkest places in the UK! Find Out More >>
    Guided Tours of the Night Sky
    Organising a private star party or an outdoor event with a stargazing theme? Dark Sky Telescope Hire provide 2-hour guided tours of the night sky for families and small groups. Find out More >>

    Dark Sky Telescope Hire loan out high-performance small, medium and large aperture astronomical telescopes to individuals, families and groups in the UK.  It is run by Seb Jay from Toddington in Bedfordshire. Telescopes can be collected from 41 High Street, Toddington LU5 6BX. Alternatively, Seb can deliver rental telescopes to locations in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Essex, Berkshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Rutland.

    ABOUT SEB JAY: Seb is an active amateur astronomer in the UK with more than 20 years of stargazing experience. He is a member of the Bedford Astronomical Society and contributes  to astronomy forums Stargazers Lounge and Cloudy Nights.

    NEW – Somerset Telescope Hire Base serving Exmoor, Somerset and Devon Now Open! Hire a 6″ Skywatcher Telescope for one and two-week hires.

    We are proud supporters of Exmoor National Park’s Dark Sky Reserve. Nightly telescope hire is now available from the Exmoor National Park Visitor Centres in Lynmouth,  Dunster and Dulverton.  

    FEATURE TELESCOPE TOUR

    • Take a tour of our 8" (200mm) Skywatcher Telescope for Hire

      The 8" 200p Skywatcher is currently one of the most popular telescopes in the UK. See how it works in our handy slide presentation above. The swivel base and optical tube assembly (OTA) are highly portable, making this telescope easy to transport and set up. Once you've viewed the presentation try it out for real with Dark Sky Telescope Hire. Our hire prices start at £30 for 7 Nts

    DON'T MISS THIS TONIGHT!

    Triple Planet Conjunction at the End of May 2013

    Posted on 16 May 2013
    Image of Venus and Jupiter Conjunction by Lorenzo Andrioli The second half of May this year sees three planets drift into the same part of the sky. Look to the West and Northwest horizon about an hour after

    Magnificent Saturn on View All Night in May 2013

    Posted on 01 May 2013
    Saturn is at its biggest and brightest for this year during May 2013, and is visible all night long from dusk until dawn. Look to the south-eastern sky some 45-minutes to an hour after sunset and you’

    Chasing Comet PanSTARRS to the Pole Star in May 2013

    Posted on 01 May 2013
    May 2013 is likely to be the last month to see Comet PanSTARRS C/2011 L4. As the month begins the comet still shines at a relatively bright 8th magnitude, and can be found in binoculars and small telescopes

    Telescope Hire Experiences
    "Thank you to Seb and Dark Sky Telescope Hire for your wonderful service and the fantastic support. I even received a pack of information on star-gazing events plus planets/stars/nebula that would be visible during my hire period. I loved the Skywatcher 8" reflector I hired (in fact I liked it so much my partner bought me the exact same telescope), the images from the telescope along with the seriously dark skies I hunted down made it a truly fantastic experience." David Walton - Surrey ... March 2013

    Sketches and Photos from our Telescopes

    TELESCOPE BOOKING INSTRUCTIONS

    1 >> Browse our telescopes for hire

    2 >> Select a telescope and check the availability indicator on the telescope information screen

    3 >> Hire period is for 7 or 14 nights. Friday to Friday

    4 >> Make your booking request here, or phone Seb on 07884 001815

    5 >> On the first day of your hire period collect your telescope from us, or be available to receive delivery from us at a pre-arranged time

    6 >> Pay for your telescope hire on the day of collection or delivery by cash. If paying by paypal please make payment at least 24 hours in advance

    7 >> Read the set-up instructions, storage and usage instructions and observing guide – and hope for clear skies!

    Tags

    2013 April 2013 astro sketching Bodes Nebula Canes Venatici comet Comet ISON Comet PanSTARRS Cor Caroli dobsonian telescope Double stars evening BBQ party Galilean moons Ganymede globular clusters Great Red Spot GRS Hercules ISS Jupiter Jupiter moon transits Leo Triplet Lyrid Meteors M13 Globular Cluster M42 M57 M71 M81 March 2013 May 2013 Mercury Moon-Jupiter Conjunction Orion Nebula Owl Cluster photographing Jupiter planetary nebula rent a telescope ring nebula saturn Saturns Moons star clusters stargazing stargazing tours Titan Venus

    Recent Posts

    • Triple Planet Conjunction at the End of May 2013
    • Add Stargazing Spice to Your Summer Evening BBQ Party
    • Comet PanSTARRS sketched with Anti-Tail
    • Magnificent Saturn on View All Night in May 2013
    • Chasing Comet PanSTARRS to the Pole Star in May 2013

    Archives

    • May 2013 (5)
    • April 2013 (7)
    • March 2013 (6)
    • February 2013 (7)
    • January 2013 (3)
    • 2012 (20)

    How to Find Us

    We are located on the High Street (A5120) in Toddington close to Jct 12 of the M1. From the motorway head up the hill into Toddington. The road bears left at the Church. Continue along the road past the shops on your right. We are 100 yards or so up on the left.
    SAT NAV – LU5 6BX

    Address & Telephone

    Dark Sky Telescope Hire
    41 High Street
    Toddington
    Dunstable
    Bedfordshire
    LU5 6BX

    Tel. 07884 001815


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