Observing Skills Archives
Observing Abell 2151: The Hercules Cluster
Jul 01 2009 10:38 AM |
Guest
in Observing Skills
The area in Hercules bordering Serpens Caput has always interested me due the remoteness of many of the visible galaxies in that area, many of which are members of the Hercules Supercluster over 500 million light years away.
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Author name:
Alan Kane
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Jewels In Dark Settings, Two By Two
May 14 2009 07:46 AM |
desertstars
in Observing Skills
Spring is not a season that presents a lot of deep sky objects to the irregular chunk of sky I can see from my tree crowded back yard
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Author name:
Thomas Watson
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Three Evenings in December
Feb 19 2009 05:48 AM |
desertstars
in Observing Skills
On the 28th of December, 2008, I found myself checking the Clear Sky Chart and seeing nothing but deep blue squares for the next three days
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Author name:
Thomas Watson
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Meteorites
Jan 21 2009 01:44 AM |
Glassthrower
in Observing Skills
It was by chance that I acquired my first meteorite
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Author name:
Michael Gilmer
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Astronomy for the Disabled
Dec 19 2008 05:03 AM |
iancandler
in Observing Skills
My name is Ian candler. I am 50 yrs old and for the last 9 + yrs have been disabled due to a bad back injury
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Ian Candler
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My Lunar Eclipse Experience
Mar 17 2008 02:25 AM |
Chris Schroeder
in Observing Skills
aboard the Caribbean Princess on February
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Author name:
Christopher Shroeder
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Beautiful Saturn
Feb 21 2008 02:07 AM |
Guest
in Observing Skills
Saturn, the jewel of our solar system, is best known for it’s spectacular rings and multitude of moons
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Author name:
Kevin Koski
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Observation Log on the Web
Nov 30 2007 02:14 AM |
Oldfield So
in Observing Skills
It's always nice to keep a log on your observations.
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Oldfield So
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Loons on the Lake (Binocular Observing Report)
Jul 23 2007 02:09 AM |
EdZ
in Observing Skills
The record of my binocular observing over recent vacation
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Author name:
Ed Zarenski
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Beyond M42
Dec 21 2006 03:59 AM |
ftodonoghue
in Observing Skills
As we spend so much time studying Orion over the Winter, it will do no harm at all to mention a few of the other objects that are visible apart from M42, the Great Orion Nebula
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Author name:
Trevor O'Donoghue
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Inside a Messier Marathon
May 05 2006 02:57 AM |
Art Fritzson
in Observing Skills
I decided to try my hand at a Messier Marathon this year - I'd never done one before and I've only been observing for a couple of years. If you haven't tried one, or if you have and want to compare it with your own
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Author name:
Art Fritzson
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Southern Globular Clusters for Binoculars
Apr 18 2006 01:49 AM |
Magellanico
in Observing Skills
The list below are my compilation of 16 years of observation under Brazilian dark skies
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Author name:
Magellanico Sao Paulo
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Lunar Domes
Feb 24 2006 04:21 AM |
Guest
in Observing Skills
The Lunar domes and their Characteristics
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Author name:
Piergiovanni Salimbeni
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Are Amateur Observations of Mars Important?
Nov 20 2005 02:28 AM |
Lusty
in Observing Skills
During the 1960's and 1970's heyday of space missions to Mars we learned that amateur observations were of vital importance to the safety of landing machines on that planet
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Author name:
Jeff Beish
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Seeing and Transparency
Nov 19 2005 02:47 AM |
Starman1
in Observing Skills
The atmosphere interferes with the telescope's ability to see. Every beginner learns that axiom very quickly. First, we blame the scope
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Author name:
Don Pensack
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Deep Sky Tools: 5800 Free Mini-maps
Nov 06 2005 06:51 AM |
Guest
in Observing Skills
Everybody knows that for catching faint deep sky objects, one has to know exactly where to look at. We need a detailed star atlas to succeed, showing very faint stars. Imagine for a moment an atlas reaching the 12.5 magnitude. It would plot millions of stars and would include thousands of charts filling several volumes. Too bulky to carry with us, isn't it? However, what we really need to know in detail is only the neighbourhood of the deep sky object we are looking for. Why charting then with high detail "empty" areas which we are not really interested in? Think in how we do starhopping. First we use our finder, and with the only assistance of our favourite sky atlas (Herald-Bobroff, Sky Atlas 2000) we gradually move to the area. Then we look through the telescope to enlarge the area, look back again to our atlas, and... ops... our atlas does not plot anything of what we can see in the eyepiece field.
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Author name:
José Ramón
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November Skies (2005)
Nov 01 2005 02:53 AM |
Guest
in Observing Skills
Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Planet Plotting, Leonid Meteor Shower, Where Are We Now?, November Moon
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Author name:
Dick Cookman
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Solar Binoviewing
Oct 27 2005 05:45 AM |
Guest
in Observing Skills
Here are my impressions after nine months of extensive solar viewing and a couple of nocturnal sessions
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Author name:
Jim Richberg
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Free Mag 7 Star Charts
Apr 24 2005 09:30 AM |
Guest
in Observing Skills
I hope beginner's and experienced observers alike might find some use in these charts -- as a first atlas, as a bridge atlas between planishere and a deeper atlas, as a binocular atlas, as printable charts for outlining observing plans and/or recording small field notes, or to make wallpaper for your outhouse. At the very least, when you take family or friends on an observing outing it is easy (and affordable) to ensure everyone has an atlas of their own to refer to.
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Author name:
Andrew Johnson
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Lunar MISSION: POSSIBLE
Mar 30 2005 06:45 PM |
Ron B[ee]
in Observing Skills
Introduction...
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Author name:
Ron B[ee]
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A Dream Night in the Observatory (The Moon)
Feb 16 2006 07:16 AM |
JimP
in Observing Skills
I always enjoy getting to the observatory ahead of time. I like observing in the evening to early morning and, I like getting up early to observe as long as I have some significant observing time before dawn
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Author name:
Jim Phillips
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Spring Double Star Tour
Feb 16 2006 06:47 AM |
PJ Anway
in Observing Skills
In the north woods, Spring comes much later than in most places, but it generally starts near the end of April. By then the only remaining evidence of winter are patches of snow left in the woods beneath the shade of thick evergreens. The smelt are beginning their yearly trek up stream, and it won't belong
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Author name:
PJ Anway
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Flocking Materials Test -stray light reduction
Mar 12 2005 11:47 AM |
Guest
in Observing Skills
Stray light reflected off inner tube walls in Newtonian & Dobsonian telescopes has been a subject of increasing concern in recent years by Amateur Astronomers. Small portions of this light finds its way to the image plane, where it can significantly diminish resolution and contrast. The degree of image deterioration is directly determined by the degree of reflectance at the inner tube surface. Therefore, in order to achieve the best possible performance, it is critically important to have this reflectance reduced to a possible minimium, particularly in unbaffled tubes. Current methods to reduce this stray light have been to flock the inside walls either
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Author name:
Larry Stange
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Basics of Starhopping
Jul 29 2005 12:35 PM |
Wouter D'hoye
in Observing Skills
Today we, amateur astronomers, have an immense array of equipment at our disposal. We have telescopes that can find their own way through the sky and even tell us what we are looking at. Some telescopes are even capable
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Author name:
Walter D'hoye
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What Does It Take To See Width In The Cassini Division?
Jul 29 2005 11:59 AM |
EdZ
in Observing Skills
The Airy disk radius is measured from the midpoint of the central diffraction disk to the minimum of the first diffraction interspace. The central diffraction disk, sometimes confusingly referred to as the Airy disk, is somewhat smaller than the true Airy disk.
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Author name:
Ed Zarenski
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