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August 2019 Skies

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers/Asteroid Surprises, Planet Plotting, August Moon Focus Constellations: Bootes, Corona Borealis, Ophiuchus, Hercules, Lyra, Aquila, Pegasus, Cygnus, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Camelopardalis, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major

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Cosmic Challenge: Planetary nebula IC 4732

M22 is right in the thick of it, not far from the galactic center of the Milky Way. As such, it has lots of company. One particular planetary nebula proves a worthy adversary through 10- to 14-inch scopes: IC 4732. IC 4732 lies just 1.4° north-northwest of M22. Cataloged at magnitude 12.1, its tiny disk is difficult to pick out from the mob of field stars -- difficult, but not impossible.

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PrimaLuceLab Eagle Review

After using the Eagle for about three years I can comfortably say I would purchase this product all over again. Seeing the product in person and being able to hold it in my hand really helped with my decision to make my purchases with PrimaLuceLab. With it's ease of use, safety, customer support and conveniences, I say that this is a winner in my book. I would give this product a 9/10 stars.

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July 2019 Skies

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Intergalactic Space, Planet Plotting, July Moon Focus Constellations: Coma Berenices, Virgo, Bootes, Corona Borealis, Ophiuchus, Hercules, Lyra, Aquila, Cygnus, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Camelopardalis, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major

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Cosmic Challenge: Lunar craters Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins

Last month, I challenged you to find all six of the Apollo landing sites. This month, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's and Edwin Aldrin's historic landing and moon walk, we return to Mare Tranquilitatis, the scene of Apollo 11, to find three small craters that bear the names of that historic mission's crew members.

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June 2019 Skies

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Summer Solstice, Planet Plotting, June Moon Focus Constellations: Cancer, Leo, Leo Minor, Coma Berenices, Virgo, Bootes, Corona Borealis, Ophiuchus, Hercules, Lyra, Cygnus, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Camelopardalis, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor

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Cosmic Challenge: Apollo Landing Sites

Between July 1969 and December 1972, six teams of United States astronauts ventured across the gap between Earth and Moon to land and walk on that distant world. Have you ever visited their landing sites? If not, let's do so now.

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My Other Telescope is an 8.4 Meter - Part III: Polishing

I've started writing about this aspect of fabricating the world's largest monolithic mirrors a number of times. Each time I get to about ten pages before I realize how truly complex this phase of fabrication is. So, I am going to assume, for the sake of this account, that everything works as planned and there are no side tracks. That won't be true, but if I tell the real story, I'll never get done.

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Filter Comparison For Imaging Broad Spectrum Objects In Light Pollution Areas

The primary purpose of imaging with a filter in the city is to mitigate light pollution and help suppress the noise so that the signal of the target object becomes easier to identify. This is rather easily achieved for nebula type objects that emit at very specific wavelengths but much more challenging to accomplish for full-spectrum sources such as galaxies and globular clusters. Cutting down on city glare is becoming even more challenging as city lighting transitions from Mercury type lighting that emits at defined wavelengths to LED lighting that generally emits broad spectrum lighting.

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May 2019 Skies

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Planet Plotting, May Moon Focus Constellations: Auriga, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Leo Minor, Coma Berenices, Virgo, Bootes, Corona Borealis, Hercules, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Camelopardalis, Lynx, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor

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