Recent Additions

• 
  Review: Taurus T400 16" f/4.5 Ultra Light (without optics)

  Feb 23 2025 03:07 PM by darksky97

  It seems we’re dealing with a truss telescope that could have been made much better, considering its price. However, its advantages allow me to enjoy it immensely, as they meet exactly what I wanted from a telescope of this type: to be very practical, meaning portable and easy to manage, with good mechanics that facilitate maintaining collimation.

• 
  Celestron AZ 102 refractor telescope review – through the eyes of a beginner

  Mar 09 2025 01:38 PM by Pierre C

  I think the Celestron AZ 102 refractor available at Costco is a starter telescope for a beginner. It is affordable, easy to set up and easy to use. It provides solid views of a range of objects at low and medium power. It can accept upgraded optical components for even better views.

• 
  A Menagerie of Mini Mods for Mega Convenience

  Feb 23 2025 01:09 PM by morgan a.

  When I am not ogling the heavens with Big Bertha, my modified 12” Dob, (S&T January 2022), I rendezvous under the bedazzled night canopy with Starling, my 6” SCT, which I use as an incidental/travel scope on a manual EQ mount. The following suggestions are intended for improvements upon those minimalist setups with an SCT on a manual EQ mount.

Cloudy Nights Announcements

User Reviews

• 
  Review: Taurus T400 16" f/4.5 Ultra Light (without optics)

  Feb 23 2025 04:07 PM by darksky97

  It seems we’re dealing with a truss telescope that could have been made much better, considering its price. However, its advantages allow me to enjoy it immensely, as they meet exactly what I wanted from a telescope of this type: to be very practical, meaning portable and easy to manage, with good mechanics that facilitate maintaining collimation.

• 
  Celestron AZ 102 refractor telescope review – through the eyes of a beginner

  Mar 09 2025 02:38 PM by Pierre C

  I think the Celestron AZ 102 refractor available at Costco is a starter telescope for a beginner. It is affordable, easy to set up and easy to use. It provides solid views of a range of objects at low and medium power. It can accept upgraded optical components for even better views.

• 
  Celestron Origin Review

  Jan 26 2025 12:47 PM by StargazerMax94

  The Celestron Origin sure is a fun treat! I won't lie, it is one of the most exciting astronomy products I have looked at in a long time. But it is not for everyone and I will be the first to admit that. The Origin is the perfect telescope for clubs, schools and people who are interested in EAA. It is the perfect balance of portability, capability and overall performance for a decently small profile. It is nowhere near as big as my C9.25 with an EQ mount, cameras, Hyperstar, yada yada yada, but it is still the largest of the smart telescopes out there. The Origin has wonderful optical quality, really good tech and super convenient features for everyone at any skill level.

• 
  First Impressions: StellaMira 80mm APO doublet review

  Jan 26 2025 12:21 PM by urright4me

  This ota will spend most of its life on my balcony, and while it does not compare to an ES165mm or 127mm triplet, it is fairly equal to past WO110mm mergrez and SW102mm doublet refractors I had (at least to my eyes). But for ease of use, fine focus, and sharpness of the well color corrected field it’s superb. In the SM80, the surrounding silky black sky (well good contrast, it is Dallas after all) make this an ideal scope for my particular needs.

• 
  DocTelescope LaserMax II 20” F/3.6 review

  Jan 09 2025 07:07 AM by multijon

  As of the time writing this review, while I'm still waiting to enable the motorized capabilities of my scope, it has exceeded all my expectations (except the Zenith viewing one). It is truly a work of art, a beautiful design that is also highly functional, and I am grateful to all of the professionals who made this dream come true. I also appreciate the human connections I formed during this scope's inception and hope that I enjoy it and my new friendships for years to come.

• 
  An Odyssey of Three Oberwerk Binoculars for Astronomical Viewing

  Dec 29 2024 12:40 PM by morgan a.

  I have zero buyer’s remorse after ruminating on these binos and having used them thus far to the extent reported. I expect their service life to exceed mine. I understood their functions and limitations well before purchasing. They have greatly enhanced my astronomical viewing and filled a niche falling below the magnification thresholds of my telescopes, but with a significantly expanded actual field of view, while still providing significant magnification levels above my 12x50s. While there are other high quality brand binoculars available, most are tailored for “sport” use and affordability/variety peaks around the 15x56 size. I do not know of any other brand that currently offers binos in the 15x – 25 x ranges with apertures up to 100mm with the features, quality, product support, customer service and price that Oberwerk offers.

• 
  Review of the 20” DocTelescopes Lasermax II F3.53

  Dec 01 2024 11:33 AM by PeterWar

  The DocTelescopes Lasermax II F3.53 offers a remarkable viewing experience with excellent build quality and customization options. Its ease of transport and assembly make it a top choice. This is a complex telescope not recommended for beginners but a delight for advanced amateur astronomers.

• 
  Musings on a $50 Fathers Day Astronomy Present

  Sep 29 2024 01:53 PM by TonyCaf

  For fathers day recently, the wife asked me what I wanted. I told her I had been looking at a $150 GSKYER long focal length refractor on an online marketplace. That was a while ago. I had recently noticed the owner had dropped the price to 50 dollars and with it being fathers day, what did I have to lose? She said yes and we scooped it up. Tonight was the first night (In a long while) that I would get a chance to see how far 50 dollars could go in astronomy fun.

• 
  The Rockin’ TD Ranch - a review of sorts

  Sep 29 2024 01:03 PM by johnstra

  Smack in the middle of the Massacre Rim Dark Sky Sanctuary in Northwestern Navada sits an Airbnb called the Rockin’ TD Ranch. The nearest town is Cederville, CA, population 530, which is 20 miles west down a dirt road. Alturas is another 30 miles west so the term middle of nowhere is apropos.

• 
  Quick Review of the Itty Bitty Radio Telescope

  Aug 31 2024 10:04 AM by michaelcaba

  The Itty Bitty Radio Telescope (hereafter, IBT) is a simple DIY device that can be used to detect radio waves from the Sun. It primarily consists of a satellite dish, a signal meter, a power source and a mount (often a lazy susan rig). In my case, I purchased an 18” dish off of Craig’s List, the signal meter was obtained via eBay and the remaining items were sourced at Amazon and local hardware stores.

• 
  Comparing Two Wide field Constellation Binoculars- Orion 2x54mm versus Kasai 2.3x40mm

  Aug 31 2024 09:05 AM by NinePlanets

  I sat on the fence a few years before I decided to step off and gamble my money on these wide-field, low power Galilean binoculars. I've never been impressed with any sort of Galilean telescopes, field glasses or opera glasses and I suspected that they were just an expensive, trendy gimmick; but based on others' comments and experiences, I considered that these specialty items, with their wider than typical fields, might actually fill a niche in my astro-equipment arsenal.

• 
  Review of Rigel Systems Wifi nSTEP Focus Controller on a Solar Telescope and a Mirror Lens

  Aug 31 2024 08:44 AM by astropotamus

  Following Dr. Palmer's easy instructions had the equipment ready to go in no time. Connection to the ALPACA wifi driver was trivially easy, and for the longest time, I thought I was doing something wrong because I was expecting it to fail. Or, at least, to be more complicated. It wasn't.