Join us as we explore the solar system, viewing techniques, galaxies, space travel, and much, much more.
We’ve all been there; scrolling through images of planets and deep-sky objects on your phone, your eye settles on an astoundingly detailed and colorful nebula. Then you view an image of Jupiter with its intricate cloud belts shown in high-resolution detail. What, you wonder, would it take to produce results like that yourself? Checking the […]
Can You Rent Telescopes? 7 Top Considerations Read More »
Pluto was discovered in 1930, but in recent years it has become a divisive issue for modern astronomers. Some say that the planet is too small to be considered a planet at all. Others say that it should still be called a planet because it is very similar to Jupiter and Saturn, and has a
Can I See Pluto And Other Dwarf Planets With A Telescope? Read More »
Refractor vs reflector that is the question… Most people seem to have a fairly generic idea of a telescope that they picture in their minds, particularly when shopping for one: A long, skinny instrument with a lens at one end mounted on a spindly but elegant tripod, with the eyepiece at the rear. This is
Refractor vs Reflector Telescope: What is the Difference? Read More »
Located on the ecliptic, Cancer (the “crab”) is one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac and is found in the northern celestial hemisphere. Cancer is a medium-sized constellation with an area of 506 square degrees and is home to many exciting deep-sky objects, many of which will be discussed in this ultimate guide to
Cancer Constellation: The Ultimate Guide Read More »
You’ve purchased a new telescope and can’t wait to use it to find celestial objects in the night sky. But although your telescope can be set up in minutes, that doesn’t mean that you can use it straight out of the box – it needs to be aligned! Why do you have to align your
How To Align Your Telescope Read More »
The moon is potentially one of the easiest astronomical objects to photograph. It is very bright so it does not require long exposure times or specialist equipment, and most people in most places on earth can see the moon every month. However, photographing the moon well does require some knowledge and planning and some basic
How to Take a Photo of the Moon Read More »
When you look through a telescope at the Moon, you might be a little confused as to why it looks flipped left to right or rotated on its side 180 degrees. Your finderscope perhaps produces an image similarly flipped upside-down. This can be a headache to understand, and many beginners often wonder why it
Why Is My Telescope Image Upside Down? – Answer & How To Fix Read More »
So you’ve bought yourself a shiny new telescope, or you’ve dug an old one out of the attic, or perhaps you have your telescope all set up and working nicely but you get upgrade-itis and have a nagging feeling that there is more quality that can be wrung from your telescope? Whilst idly reading the
Kellner vs Plossl Eyepiece – What is the Difference? Read More »
Focusing a telescope may sound intimidating, but it’s actually a remarkably easy process. In this article, we will explain what how to focus a telescope actually means, how focusers work, and why it’s important. Most telescopes have an external focusing device that physically shifts the eyepiece or camera back and forth along the optical axis
How to Focus a Telescope (Visually and Photographically) Read More »
Why does the moon shine? is one of those seemingly simple questions that people tend to assume they were born with the knowledge to answer, like ‘why is the sky blue?’ That is until someone – usually a young child – asks them the question. But fear not, nobody is born with this knowledge, so
Why Does the Moon Shine? Read More »
There isn’t a person alive who hasn’t seen the Moon in the sky and noticed it changing shape. We’ve all watched it change from night to night, from a crescent to a half and then to full. It then seems to disappear from the night completely before returning, a few weeks later, to the evening
Why Does the Moon Have Phases? You Need to Know Read More »
It took me a while to understand the concept of a field of view (FOV) when working with my telescope. I had always thought that FOV was something you could measure simply with your eyes, but it turns out that it’s a term used to describe how much area of the sky can be seen
What Is A Field Of View In Astronomy And Why Is It Useful? Read More »