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What Telescope is Right for You?

Amateur astronomy may very well be the most popular and quickly growing scientific hobby in the world today. This popularity undoubtedly has a basis in the fact that astronomy covers a lot of “turf”. Meanwhile the existence of the Internet has made it possible for observers to share their love and knowledge of the sky while working together and advancing the state of the art. Finally, the fact that telescopes and binoculars are so readily available in great diversity of cost, quality, and capacity doesn’t hurt either.

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What’s Up This Week – Jan 31 – Feb 6, 2005

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! As the month ends and a new week begins, it’s time chase down the “Magnificent Machholz” again as it heads to the far north. Our European friends are in for a treat as the Moon occults Antares on February 4! Feeling “trapped” by winter weather? Then enjoy your captivity as we utilize early dark skies to delve deeper into all the secrets of the Great Orion Nebula complex — including the holy of holies — the “Trapezium”! There are plenty of fun astronomy facts as well as some unique things to observe for all skill levels, so turn your eyes to the skies…

Because here’s what’s up!

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How Far Can You See?

Any idea how deep the eye could go if there was no atmosphere to scatter starlight? Ever wonder what optical and physical principles limit the eye’s ability to see small, faint things? Have you given thought to how the “why” of astronomy changed before and after the telescope? In this article Jeff Barbour explores the limits of human sight – with and without the telescope. Learn more about the equipment available to contemporary amateurs making backyard astronomy the “extra-terrestrial” hobby of choice.

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What’s Up This Week – Jan 17 – Jan 23, 2005

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! Is it back? Yes. But this time it’s Antares and Mars! The Moon will be out in full force this week – but what a wonderful place to explore. There is no astronomical delight more loaded with detail than our own natural satellite, so join us as we walk in the Alpine Valley, climb Mons Pico, survey the terrain of Clavius and even scale the “Great Wall”! There be a grand lunar occultation this week and the “Magnificent Machholz” will perform a ‘fly-by’ on Mirfak. Not enough? Then lend me your ears as you’ll discover Radio JOVE. We’ll color the cloudy skies with atmospheric phenomena and learn which “Twin” has many secrets! So open your eyes to the skies…

Because here’s what’s up!

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Wallpaper: Barred Spiral NGC 1300

Here’s a beautiful 1280×1024 desktop wallpaper of barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. This image was unveiled last week at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Barred spirals are different from regular spiral galaxies because the arms don’t spiral all the way to the centre of the galaxy, but instead are connected to straight bars that contain the nucleus of the galaxy. The galaxy lies 69 million light-years away in the constellation of Eridanus.

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What’s Up This Week – Dec 27 – Jan 2, 2005

Happy Holidays, Skywatchers! This week we continue our celestial journey beginning before dawn with a close pairing of Venus and Mercury. As we wait for the later and later rise of the Moon each evening, we will visit in Aries with a fine double – Mesarthim. Returning again to the north, it’s time to locate the M34 in Perseus and begin studying the open clusters of Auriga with the M36 and M38. For those in the north, discovery awaits you with the “Little Dumbbell”, M76, while the south enjoys the incredible Eta Carinae. Celebrate the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one by journeying across time and space. Take the time to enjoy the singular beauty of “Hind’s Crimson Star” and return again to the “Magnificent Machholz” as it climbs even higher and gets even brighter! So grab your binoculars, get out your telescopes, and hope for clear skies…

Because here’s what’s up!

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What’s Up This Week – Nov 22 – 28, 2004

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! For those of you who like observing challenges, this week will provide many interesting opportunities to view occultations of bright stars by asteroids as well as three observable comets. We will explore lunar features for both binoculars and telescopes and look into “The Eye of the Bull”. Although the Moon goes full this week, we can still have fun by learning to observe satellite passes and even chase the ISS! We will begin an in-depth look at the constellation of Cassiopeia by viewing and discussing some of its bright double stars and a galactic cluster. Just as predictable as the morning planets, there’s always something fun to do, a bit of history and things to learn. So open your eyes…

Because here’s what’s up!

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What’s Up This Week – Nov 15 – 21, 2004

Welcome back, fellow skywatchers! The “hot” news for this week is, of course, the Leonid Meteor Shower. Where will it happen, when will it happen and how many can we expect to see? The answers to that are all matters of calculation and a whole lot of luck! The predictions for 2004 look best for the early hours of November 19, but why wait? The random rate (thanks to a little help from the Andromedids) has been outstanding! We will also locate and explore globular cluster M30 and a beautiful asterism known as the “Coathanger”. Want some color in your stars? Then come along as we locate and view Omicron 1 Cygni! We head south for the “Lonely Star” – Formalhaut, and salute Southern Hemisphere viewers with the finest “double” in the sky, Rigel Kentauris. We will examine lunar features and use the Moon to guide you to the outer planets. You’ll find a bit of space history here as well as a lot of fun for the naked-eye, binocular and telescope observer. For now? Hope for clear skies and mark your calendars…

Because here’s what’s up!

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What’s Up This Week? Oct. 25 – 31, 2004

Greetings, fellow sky watchers! As October ends, we have another exciting week in astronomy for you. This week’s highlight is a total eclipse of the Moon! On October 27/28 our “nearest astronomical neighbor” will slide quietly into the Earth’s dark cone of shadow called the umbra, providing most of us from Europe through North America with an inspiring view – but that’s not all. There will also be many other great things to explore this week such as lunar features Tycho, Grimaldi, Langrenus, Mare Crisium and Hercules. We’ll locate the 12th brightest star in the sky and do a “double take” as we learn about Albireo. Rich star cluster, M45 is waiting on you to explore with binoculars, telescopes — or just your eyes and imagination. There’s a little history here and a lot of fun. Now it’s time to mark your calendars…

Because here’s what’s up!

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The Virgo Galaxy Cluster is Still Being Formed

At a distance of only 50 million light-years away, the Virgo Cluster is the nearest galaxy cluster to us. It’s a giant structure consisting of hundreds of galaxies, both large and small, spiral and elliptical; 16 objects in this cluster are members of the famous Messier list of space objects. Astronomers have located a large number of planetary nebula floating in the “intercluster” space between galaxies, and theorize that they must be a fraction of the free floating stars and other objects which swarm around the cluster. By measuring the path of these objects, astronomers have been able to track how the Virgo Cluster is still in the process of formation.