A Future Solution to Light Pollution?

Light pollution is a major problem, both for professional and backyard astronomers. It used to be that if you just went out into the countryside, you could get decent viewing. But with unshielded mercury vapor lamp street lighting all over cities, you can't do that, anymore. City glow extends for tens, even hundreds, of miles, fogging up the sky.

The Vancouver Museum in British Columbia, Canada is currently hosting an exhibit of simple, practical solutions to a variety of modern problems. One of the items on display is something called "Lunar-Resonant Street Lights": http://www.indexaward.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=77

These are street lights that are sensitive to moonlight. They are brightest during a New Moon and dimmest (even off) during a Full Moon. Their inventors say that not only could these lights save "between 80 and 90 percent of energy normally spent on street lighting" but that they could also get people back in tune with the natural rhythms of the world around them, like lunar phases and star rotations. Check it out. It's a very interesting idea. Now, if we can just get rid of those infernal mercury lights...

#Meteorwatch

After the overly successful IYA2009 event #Moonwatch, the Newbury Astronomical Society had to try and run another.

Now you may be asking yourself, what is #Moonwatch? Well, in simple terms #Moonwatch was a Astro-Twitter event, where there were about 10-15 people tweeting pictures and answering questions about the moon and occasionally Saturn. These pictures were “Tweeted” live, just after they were taken someone would upload it to their Twitter account and all the others would send out a message or RT (Re-Tweet) that picture, for all to see! With this the Newbury Astronomical Society had thousands of people watching them for the next lunar images! Now 3 months later the Newbury Astronomical Society is at it again, but this time it’s called #Meteorwatch

#Meteorwatch is predicted to be one of the biggest (if not the biggest) astronomical event on Twitter ever! Now you may be wondering why chose now? Who wants to have an event in the middle of August? Well, if you know your meteor showers then you know why, the Perseids! The Perseids is one of the biggest (meaning most meteors per hour) showers of the year, so everyone has the best chance of spotting at least a few meteors in a small time, even under the most light polluted skies. So on August 11, 12, and 13^th be sure to go outside and watch “the sky falling”. Then once done come inside or bring your computer outside and join the “Tweeting”.

Now you may be wondering what should I “Tweet”? or What are you “Tweeting”? Well, the answer to the first question is, you can “tweet” whatever you want, you can tell us when you saw a meteor, you can post pictures of the sky, answer/ask questions, whatever you want! Just be sure to join in on the fun! Then @NewburyAS , @ksastro , @Starrfop , @MDBenson , and many more will be tweeting LIVE images of Meteors, the moon, Jupiter, and whatever else is in their reach. In addition to these LIVE images, I (ksastro) will be hosting LIVE telescope tours of the moon, Jupiter, and some other bright objects.

So if you want to join, it’s as easy as contacting @NewburyAS or @ksastro or just send out a tweet with #Meteorwatch and we will reply. Hope you join this momentous event!

Participants list: (As of August 7, 2009 18:55 CDT)

Name Twitter Name: Location Denise Wallace Starrfop Florida, USA Elias Jordan ksastro Kansas, USA Adrian West NewburyAS Newbury, UK Dr Ian O’Neill astroengine California, USA see above Discovery_Space See aboveCatherine CatherineQ Eastern, USA Dave dpbkmb Pennsilvania, USA Adam Horn adam_horn UK John K. geminijk Tenessee, USA Mike Weasner mweasnerArizona, USA Lisa Kirsch LRKirsch California, USA Gene Mikulka genejm29New Jersey, USA skipzilla Ohio, USA Philip Stobbart philipstobbart Kendal, UKTavi Greiner TaviGreiner Eastern, USA See above askyfullofstars see aboveAstroSpaceNow astrospacenow N/A Montse Montsecor Costa Rica Carolina Odman carolune N/A Marty Bishop MixfmMarty Arizona, USA N/A brechtjeNetherlands Marena sthrnynkeegrl NE, USA N/A uponschoolcloud FranceSteve Knight Steve_P_Knight Banbury, UK Michel Schep MichelSchepAmsterdam Mark Benson MDBenson Louth, UK N/A theBomber London, UKRoland Taams RolandTaams Netherlands Ruth E’Alessandro WildlifeGardenaN/A Maggie Philbin maggiephilbin London, UK Mark Zaugg Zarquil Alberta, Canada Alexandru Csete csete Denmark Jaap Meijers tjaap Netherlands Dave Pearson davepdotorg Lincolnshire, UK Tom Boulton Tommy_413 Wirral, UKEwan Bryce Space_Jockey Edinburgh, UK Louis Suarato LouisS Eastern, USAAaron Slack RevAaron Canada Diane teal64 Pennsylvania, USA Bonnie bjr70Michigan, USA Daniel Dowhan mizerock Virginia, USA Wynyard Planetariumwwp_planetarium Stockton, UK Waddell Robey XiNeutrino New Mexico, USAJane Fleming fleming77 Cambridgeshire, UK Richie Jarvis richiedeepsky Lewes, UK N/A nullsession Iowa, USA ASG the_asg Scotland Gail Griffin gailsoaresCalifornia, USA N/A NelmaAlas Portugal Jen flyingjenny KSC, Florida

LIVE Broadcast of the moon and Jupiter

Come see the moon and Jupiter LIVe almost everynight! The we will occasionally throw in some other objects!

Live video chat by Ustream

#Meteorwatch

Newbury Astronomical Society @NewburyAS with the International Year of Astronomy 2009 UK @astronomy2009uk, amateur astronomers and societies, will be holding a Twitter Meteorwatch on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th of August 2009.

Everyone is welcome to join in, whether they are an astronomer or just have an interest in the night sky.

This event follows on from the popular Twitter Moonwatch held in May 2009 http://tinyurl.com/m5lw4o

Use the hash tag: #Meteorwatch and get involved, ask questions, follow the event and enjoy the night sky with us. Images and other information will be tweeted as it happens. Live!

The highlight of the summer meteor showers : The Perseids, reach maximum around The 11th and 12th of August and may put on a display of aproximately 80 to 100 meteors per hour under ideal conditions. Conditions this year aren’t ideal but meteors every few minutes are still quite possible. Perseid meteors are often bright with persistent trails which can linger for a while after the meteor has burned up. Further information on the Perseid meteor shower and how to view it, will be posted closer to the time and during the Meteorwatch.

Other main objects of interest on both evenings will be: The PlanetJupiter and the Moon. The planets Mars and Venus will also be visible if you stay up to the small hours.

The Twitter Meteorwatch will start at 21.30 BST on the 11th of August and will continue through to the evening of the 12th of August. Amateur and professional astronomers from the US and other countries are invited to join in and take over from the UK, when the sun comes up here, helping make the event run for over 24 hours and be truly international. The event will close in the UK, in the early hours of the 13th of August 2009.

Live moon tours will be broadcasted too! Just go to: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/galilean-nights---kansas

Carl Sagan: The Cosmos

The Popular TV broadcasting channel, Hulu is now carrying most/all of the astronomy/space series, Cosmos.

Lunar and Solar Eclipses

We had a lunar eclipse on July 7 and there's a solar eclipse on July 21. The lunar eclipse was only visible from the western U.S. and points further west into the Pacific, but the next one on August 5-6 will be visible on the east coast, as well (in the evening just after sunset). The solar eclipse will be visible in China but not in the western hemisphere.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth is directly between the sun and the moon, thus blocking any direct solar radiation. This leaves the moon illuminated only by "earthlight", which makes it glow an eery red. This is because the bouncing back and forth through atmosphere causes the shorter, bluer wavelengths to be absorbed, leaving the longer red wavelengths.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is directly between the sun and the earth. Since the moon's orbit is not right on the ecliptic plane (the plane on which the earth revolves around the sun), this doesn't happen every month. You can guess the time of an eclipse (lunar or solar), however, by looking at a calendar that has both the date and the time of the full and new moons. A lunar eclipse only occurs during a full moon and a solar eclipse only occurs during a new moon because those are the only times when the moon crossing the ecliptic plane coincides with the earth or moon blocking the sun.

There are many solar and lunar eclipse calculators online. NASA has a good one:

Solar Eclipse: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JSEX/JSEX-index.html

And this one comes from the Naval Oceanography Portal:

Lunar Eclipse: http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/lunar-ecl-us

As a rule, partial eclipses are more common than total eclipses and lunar eclipses are more common than solar eclipses. I've seen several total lunar eclipses, but only two partial solar eclipses (I would have seen a third one when I was a kid, but heavy cloud cover hid it).

In addition to total and partial lunar eclipses, there are also "penumbral" eclipses, in which the moon darkens a little from the earth's shadow but not much as in a partial/total eclipse. Both this month and next month's eclipses are penumbral.

Mars and Venus and Jupiter oh my!

—I set the alarm for 03:30 this morning to do some sky watching at a different time. One of my first goals, early in my astronomical career, is to view all the other 7 planets as soon as possible. With only Saturn under my belt, there was much to accomplish!
—So the alarm went off and like any normal work morning, I drug my butt into the bathroom and splashed water on my face. Then I put in my contacts, donned my shoes, and went out for an early morning stroll to my viewing area. To my delight, not only was Jupiter shining down from high above, but both Venus and Mars were up in the East! So off to the house I ran to grab my scope and case.
—There were some seriously disturbing sounds coming from further down the hill from my observation area that I have yet to determine what they were. It sounded like the noise upset squirrels make, on an amp, and echoing. AND there were two of them talking to one another. Fortunately for all involved, the noises did not come closer and I was left happily alone.
—Note on the weather. It was in the lower 60’s, low humidity (YAY!) and a slight breeze. It was cool enough, I put on a long sleeve shirt.
—Scope set up, lens cap off and eye piece in, what to look at first? I go with Jupiter which is high in the sky. Jupiter was spectacular through my 26 mm EP, seems like I could see two moons? Curious as I am I can’t linger and so I then point the scope over to the Eastern horizon and gander at Mars, which proves to be a disappointment overall. Then down a little a little to Venus which a: was plainly visible to me standing up, but was hiding amongst the tops of the 6 foot tall grass in my field, and B: had a huge diffraction spike. GGrrrr. I could see enough to tell there was a little more than half of it visible.
—So out with the 26mm and in with the 6mm and back to Jupiter. This time I could distinctly see two bands on Jupiter. I hovered over it quite a bit trying to fine tune the focuser (Which I have determined I hate). Truly a grand site Jupiter is!
—Then back to Mars which again even in the 6mm EP was nothing more than a tiny orange-ish disk. Wondering to myself if I will be able to make it bigger with a 12″ scope? Or is it because Mars is so far away right now? So many questions.
—Then back to Venus! The diffraction spikes were even worse in the 6mm EP, but at least it had cleared the grass and it was a sharp spiky object lol. I’d like to see it high in the sky. Unsure how long it will be until it is higher again.
—After Venus through the 6mm EP I wanted another peep at Jupiter. To my dismay it was now behind the tip top of a tree to the South even though I could see it clearly standing up. Dang it anyway! So now I know that the first concrete pad I poured is a bit to close to the tree to the South. Going to have to pour another pad soon…
—I then pulled out the 17mm EP and took a look at a blurry spot just to the east of Mars. Turned out to be a spectacular open star cluster. Anyone know what one I was looking at right before sunrise? While staring at that heavenly body, Sol decided to start peeping above the horizon. My my 90 mins went by fast! Then I noticed that Mercury had risen! Could I have first light on 4 planets in the same night? Nope, no way. It was way down in the grass, and I couldn’t begin to get to it with the scope. Going to go weed that grass today, wish me luck…
—I decided then to pack it up and head back to bed. I got first light on three planets and one star cluster. All in all a very productive 90 mins in the wee hours of the morning!

—Things I learned

1: I need my lap top there with me so I can have Stellarium at my finger tips. This is going to require a portable power supply or 200 feet of extention cords…

2: My focuser is awful. Anyone suggest a good 1.25 focuser?

3: To much tall grass around my viewing area. Can you say weedeater?

Chasing the New Moon

For about six months now, I've been trying to catch the first day that you can see the crescent moon in the first quarter of its cycle. I never seem able to get closer than the second day. Have caught the second day before the New Moon, maybe even the last day, but not right afterward.

Monday was the New Moon and I tried to catch it yesterday. But despite a half-clear sky, what clouds there were seemed to congregate over the setting sun (I suspect there's an actual metereological reason for this involving the concentration of solar heat in the west at that time of day, but haven't worked out what just yet). So, I didn't see it until tonight, when it was a bit more than a sliver.

Due to the usage of the lunar cycles in many religious calendars, astronomical observation is actually a critical matter of good religious observance. Yes, for all of the denigration of religion in some quarters as antiscience, religious calendars are in fact heavily based on science, especially astronomy.

For example, there was considerable dispute over when to start Ramadan among Muslims until easy and quick reporting from Mecca became available. It doesn't seem like much to non-Muslims, but for Muslims, Ramadan is a holy month. If you start and end it too early, you're doing the wrong thing. If you don't start it once the moon reappears in the sky, you're doing the wrong thing. Think of it as if Christmas were based on the lunar calendar: you would want to know the exact date, but the date would be partially dependent on good astronomical observation--and weather.

Passover and Easter are also regulated by a lunar calendar--or, they were originally. Because they are so strongly connected to the spring (i.e. a solar/seasonal calendar), the lunar part of their calculation is restricted to a period in spring of about two months. This is why both float around the spring months of the calendar each year. And because the Christian aspect of Easter was originally a Passover festival, the two festivals not-infrequently fall on the same date.

First Light!

As my wife described it, I was like a kid in a candy store. I had everything set out early and waited patiently (or maybe not so) for the sun to set. With each passing minute I scanned the sky for the first twinkling star. Up and down the hill I went while helping the wife cook on the grill.

—Finally there it was… Vega! Down the hill I ran and uncapped the scope. Turned on the view finder, centered the dot and presto, there was nothing there. Instantly I worried about my collimation, was it any good? Would this be a fruitless evening trying to achieve first light? In and out I turned the focuser and presto, there was a star. Very faint it was, and not Vega at all, but a sharp, well focused star.

—So up the hill I went to get the wife and tell her my collimation was successful! All I had to do now was adjust my view finder so I could start scanning the heavens. Sadly there were no planets to view or moon to use as a focus point. I had to hope that I could match the star in my view finder and the one in my eye piece. For the next two hours I struggled with it, and guess what? No success at all. I decided to focus on the Mizar/Alcor double star in Ursa Major. I could put the red dot right on it, but never find it in the scope.

—So ‘First Light’ was a mixture of highs and lows. punctuated by another upset buck white tail dear and my two labs that wouldn’t get out from underfoot. I did mix in some yummy burgers on the grill in the middle of it all. Not to mention I did see the HIP 91919A/91926C Binary system, which was really cool.

—All in all a successful evening I hope to do again next week. I hope you enjoyed my account and would love some feedback on how everyone is enjoying my blogs..

KAGUYA's last pictures

Just before her impact on the Moon surface, the Japanese Lunar Probe, KAGUYA, sent the final pictures taken with her High Definition camera. Las picture in the sequence was taken 1 minute before impact.

Astronomy.com - Setup is key when urban stargazing

Astronomy.com - Setup is key when urban stargazing

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Astrocation 2009

Have you ever wanted to know what it is like to be at some of the biggest and coolest observatories in the world? Well now you can, starting today! I will be touring New Mexico, Arizona, and California looking for all places/things astronomy related. I will be giving full coverage via, video, blog, pictures, and Twitter. So here is how you can follow along:

Twitter: for the fast and up to date observing, traveling and random experiences.

Flickr: Be the first to see all of my astrocation photos, be it astrophotography or just some observatory shots I will post all of them here. (Videos too!)

My Blog: Long stories, interviews and experiences will be posted!

So tune in and dont be shy submit questions, comments, and tell me what to observe/Image! Untill then!

Elias Jordan

You are not the Center of the Universe

Thanks to Edwin Hubble on the XX Century, we have learned that our place in the Universe is not as priviledged as we used to think.

The Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy and Sustainable Living

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/AEmain.html

The ABCs of observing

Sharpen your scope skills with these 26 tips
link

full site

Tips for Those Wearing Glasses

Some of you that wear glasses may notice that it makes astronomical observing more difficult, sometimes even aggravating. link

full site

Observing from the City

Light pollution is the bane of amateur astronomy -- but you can see a lot even through the worst of it. link

full site

Baby Stars Finally Found In Jumbled Galactic Center

Astronomers have at last uncovered newborn stars at the frenzied center of our Milky Way galaxy. The discovery was made using the infrared vision of NASA's Spitzer Space

full story

Welcome to are new Blog Authors

lEurekaAstronomy

UngaMan

Elias_Jordan

Paula R. Stiles

Gene J. Mikulka

Welcome All

Thank You

Hallo northern sky" software

free planetarium program HNSKY for Windows
http://www.hnsky.org/software.htm

Guide to Counting Meteors

http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/observing-resources/06_Counting_Meteors.pdf

Posters from the Proceedings of the Lunar Science Conference

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/lsc_posters/

Freshman in Astronomy 101

---Greetings everyone! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jared Hyatt and I live in the ecentric little town of Eureka Aprings Arkansas. I recently started an astronomy club and purchased my first telescope. Astronomy has been a life long dream of mine, however I have not had the opportunity to follow through on it until now.
---My goal here is to share my thoughts and experiences as I delve into my new hobby. I'm not sure why but I feel like I am making quite the life commitment here. I have been such an Astronomy lurker for years there was never any pressure to follow through on my promises. But here I am on the precipice of owning a scope and starting an Astronomy Club and the nerves are a bit jangled.
---So now I have to 'walk the walk' so to say. Here I am with the tasks of learning Star Charts and reading books and checking reviews on scopes. I have to learn how to collimate and find the objects I want to see in the night sky without getting frustrated. Is it a bit intimidating? Yes? Am I up to the challenge? I certainly hope so!!
—I keep taking a little bit at a time and mastering it, if you don't you may get overwhelmed. Besides isn’t half the joy of astronomy learning most of it by yourself? The other half has to be sharing your experiences with your Astronomy Club and friends on Twitter. So yes it is intimidating, but at the same time it is empowering. I feel like I have a slightly larger purpose in the world, and for some odd reason, I like it.
---Sadly only half of my scope showed up on the FedEx truck today. It looks like I have to wait until Monday to get the other half. How perfect I say! I will be at work all day Monday and Tuesday ggrrr.... When the other half of my scope shows up, I can start talking about my adventures in collimation. But for now I am left to chew on my thoughts like cud and keep reading my books over and over lol…
---Thanks for having me aboard and I hope you enjoy my adventures in Astronomy 101.

June sky highlights - Venus Shines before dawn

Both inner planets gather in June's morning sky. Mercury and, in particular, Venus put on fine displays as twilight commences. The warm evenings typical of June offer great conditions to show off the solar system's most beautiful planet, Saturn. Go ahead and invite some neighbors over for their first view of the ringed planet through a telescope. Meanwhile, the overnight hours belong to Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

As darkness falls, one lone planet graces the star-filled sky. Saturn stands more than one-third of the way from the southwestern horizon to the zenith shortly after sunset. It sets shortly before 2 a.m. in early June and by midnight at month's end.

Bryce Canyon's 9th Annual Astronomy Festival Starts Wednesday in Utah

It runs until Saturday, June 20:

http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20090611/NEWS01/90611012/1002/rss

Space Shuttle Launch Viewing

Launch info:

http://www.launchphotography.com/Shuttle_Launch_Viewing.html

Solar system's planets could spin out of control

O NO the sky is falling
more info LINK

Buying and Naming a Star

Have you been fooled into buying a star for a loved one? Well, most folk don't know but you cannot buy/name a star, only the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has the right to name any astronomical objects.

Learn more:

http://www.iau.org/public_press/themes/buying_star_names/

Find a Club Nearby You

We encourage you to contact your local astronomy club, where you'll find like-minded enthusiasts eager to share their knowledge and love of astronomy with you. Club meetings offer opportunities to try out new equipment, learn new techniques, and make new friends.

Click Here: To find an astronomy club near you!

( http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/organizations )

Space Calendar

The Space Calendar covers space-related activities and anniversaries for the coming year. Included are over 1,700 links to related home pages. This Calendar is compiled and maintained by Ron Baalke.
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/

For the people who read this blog tell me what you think

thank you

How to Buy a Telescope : Telescope Buying Guide: Dobsonian Mounts

OBSERVING THE MOON pdf

http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/observing-resources/03_Observing_The_Moon.pdf

EXOPLANET OBSERVING FOR AMATEURS

http://brucegary.net/book_EOA/EOA.pdf

Teachers’ Guide for “Observing an Eclipse of the Moon”

The purpose of this guide is to provide some tips for in-class instruction that will prepare
students to carry out the laboratory; and some suggestions for in-class followup
discussion and activities based on their results

http://www.noao.edu/education/astro/chile/archives/activities/eclipse-guide.pdf

The N.A.A. Telescope Calculator

handy tool for the telescope user, JavaScript-driven calculator, which will compute the values of a number of paramaters for any telescope & eyepiece combinations you enter
http://www.stargazing.net/naa/scopemath.htm

Polar Alignment How-to

http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/observing-resources/Polar%20Alignment.pdf

REAL TIME SATELLITE TRACKING

http://www.n2yo.com/

Astronomy Printshop

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/printshop/

'Easy' RAW mod for Philips and Logitech Webcams

http://www.astrosurf.com/astrobond/ebrawe.htm

OBSERVING BRIGHT NEBULAE

http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/observing-resources/09_Observing_Bright_Nebulae.pdf

Backyard Pier

A good how-to on making a telescope pier
http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/pier.htm

OBSERVING THE PLANETS

http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/observing-resources/05_Observing_The_Planets.pdf

How to Use Telescopes : Telescope Maintenance

things i find on the web

OBSERVING GALAXIES

http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/observing-resources/10_Observing_Galaxies.pdf

Geologic Atlas of the Moon

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/usgs/

Mercury Map Catalog

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mercury_maps/

Hickson Catalog of Compact Groups of Galaxies

A Complete Observing Atlas of All 100 Groups pdf

http://www.biophysik.uni-freiburg.de/Reiner/ATM/pdf/Hickson.pdf

Bag All the Messier Objects in One Night

Bag All the Messier Objects in One Night PDF

HomeMade Telescope

Apollo Mission Lunar Photography Index Maps

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/apolloindex/

OBSERVING STAR CLUSTERS

http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/observing-resources/08_Observing_Star_Clusters.pdf

Telescope Simulator

http://www.telescope-simulator.com/index.php/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45&Itemid=57

Our small world

How to Buy a Telescope : Telescope Buying Guide: Refracting Telescopes

Lunar Earthside, Farside, and Polar Charts (LMP) Series

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LMP/

Deepsky Observer's Companion

The complete "Deepsky Observer's Companion" observing guide can now also be downloaded as a 640K PDF file.

The names of the moon

January: Old Moon, or Moon After Yule
February: Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, or Wolf Moon
March: Sap Moon, Crow Moon or Lenten Moon
April: Grass Moon, or Egg Moon
May: Planting Moon, or Milk Moon
June: Rose Moon, Flower Moon, or Strawberry Moon
July: Thunder Moon, or Hay Moon
August: Green Corn Moon, or Grain Moon
September: Fruit Moon, or Harvest Moon
October: Harvest Moon, or Hunter’s Moon
November: Hunter’s Moon, Frosty Moon, or Beaver Moon
December: Moon Before Yule, or Long Night Moon

Mars Guide 2007

old Mars Guide

http://www.starrynight.com/sntimes/2008/01/wwwgfx_cur/MarsGuide2007.pdf

Discover the deepsky for yourself presented by the ASSA Deepsky Observing Section

Learn the constellations, while discovering the deepsky for yourself, with this free workbook

Lunar Chart (LPC-1)

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LC1/index.html

Find a Galaxy

Off the Deep End

10 Challenging Observing Projects
http://www.observers.org/GSSP/GSSP_2007.html

Lunar Shaded Relief (LSR) Series

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LSR/

Lunar Map (LM) Series

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LM/

2 Nice Mars Maps

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mars_maps/

HQ Lunar Chart (LAC) Series

Aeronautical Chart Information Center, United States Air Force
1:1,000,000
Mercator and Lambert Conformal Conic

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LAC/

Wall Murals from Hubble

Make a wall of your home into a picture window onto the universe.

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/wall_murals/

Cool Cosmos

A place for kids
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/index.html

GSSP collection of lists of things to observe

GSSP Variety Pack Descriptive file

Paul Alsing

PDF PDF

30MB file.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Moon

A guide to telescopic observations of the moon
by Akkana Peck, with help from many contributors

http://www.shallowsky.com/moon/hitchhiker.html

Free software for Moon observation or survey

http://ap-i.net/avl/en/start

USNO Moon Phase Calculator

USNO Moon Phase Calculator

BINOCULARS: An Essential Tool for Backyard Astronomers

PDF
http://www.skynewsmagazine.com/PDF/binoculars.pdf

Digital Astrophotography References PDF

http://www.stargazing.net/david/ccd/ccdref.pdf

Simple Guide to Backyard Astronomy using Binoculars or a Small Telescope

http://www.carolrpt.com/astroguide.htm

Planisphere v2.0

Make your own planisphere. Download a free program from Jan Tosovsky website. (link..)

SAC'S 110 Best of the NGC Guide Book

http://www.saguaroastro.org/content/Book_110BestOfNGC.htm

NAVY Data Services

Rise/Set/Transit/Twilight Data

• Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day
• Table of Sunrise/Sunset, Moonrise/Moonset, or Twilight Times for an Entire Year
• Rise/Set/Transit Times for Major Solar System Objects and Bright Stars
• Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year

Phases of the Moon

• Dates of Primary Phases of the Moon
• Fraction of the Moon Illuminated
• What the Moon Looks Like Today

Eclipses and Transits

• Eclipses of the Sun and Moon
• Solar Eclipse Computer
  Computes circumstances for selected solar eclipses at any given location.
• Lunar Eclipse Computer
  Computes circumstances for selected lunar eclipses at any given location.
• Recent and Upcoming Transits of Mercury and Venus
• Transit Computer
  Computes circumstances for selected transits of Mercury and Venus at any given location.

Positions of Selected Celestial Objects

• Altitude and Azimuth of the Sun or Moon During One Day
• Topocentric Configuration of Major Solar System Bodies
  Provides tables of low precision topocentric position data for the Sun, Moon, and major planets.
• Geocentric Positions of Major Solar System Objects and Bright Stars
  Provides high precision geocentric position data for the Sun, Moon, major planets and selected bright stars.
• Topocentric Positions of Major Solar System Objects and Bright Stars
  Provides high precision topocentric position data for the Sun, Moon, major planets and selected bright stars.

Synthetic Views of the Earth and Solar System Bodies

• Day and Night Across the Earth
  Creates synthetic views of the Earth's surface (in grayscale or color) for any date and time.
• Apparent Disk of Solar System Object
  Creates a synthetic image of the telescopic appearance of the Moon or other solar system object for specified date and time.

Dates

• Earth's Seasons - Equinoxes, Solstices, Perihelion, and Aphelion 2000-2020
• Spring Phenomena, 25 BCE to 38 CE
• Julian Date Conversion

Celestial Navigation

• Celestial Navigation Data
  Provides computed altitudes and azimuths and other data for an assumed position and time.
• Navigational Star Chart

Miscellaneous

• Astronomical Almanac Online
  Provides complementary data to the printed Astronomical Almanac.
• International Celestial Reference System (ICRS) - Important links relating to the implementation of the ICRS
• Occultations of Stars by Asteroids (International Occultation Timing Association)

How to Use Telescopes : Tools to Aid Telescope Viewing

stuff i find

400 Years of the Telescope - HD Trailer

IYA2009 Galileo Observing whit a New Technology Telescope International Year of Astronomy 2009

The Star of Bethlehem

a pdf on The Star of Bethlehem

The Denver Observer's Seat

I made this seat after reading this its the best seat i have
http://www.denverastrosociety.org/dfiles/carlson/denver_chair.html

WAA Trailer 1 from NSC Creative on Vimeo.

love it

Just a heads up out there looking for people to blog here

email me if you want in LQQKEY@comcast.net

Galaxy Zoo

Galaxy Zoo, where you can help astronomers explore the Universe

https://www.galaxyzoo.org/

Downloadable Observing guides.

The Local Group – Galaxies
Selected Small Galaxy Groups
Selected Galaxy Trios
Selected Shakhbazian Galaxy Groups
Abell Galaxy Clusters
Globular Clusters
Planetary Nebulae

got the info from here FaintFuzzies.com

Telrad Messier object charts

Pdf
http://www.atmob.org/library/member/skymaps_jsmall.html

Astro Helper

Free software to help the Dob users find DSOs in seconds not hours.
http://casazza.net/astrohelper/

Tonight's Sky

This site will help you plan you observing sessions by helping you find objects of interest in your sky.

http://www.tonightssky.com/MainPage.php

Juplet

The "Juplet" Java applet shows the positions of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter, their shadows, and the great red spot

http://www.shallowsky.com/jupiter.html

Cool IPhone App

StarMap
http://star-map.fr/

The Caldwell Catalogue Telrad® Finder Charts

Caldwell Catalogue Telrad Charts

Make your own planisphere

make your own planisphere This is cool

Observing list generator for amateur astronomers

Observing list generator for amateur astronomers

Galaxies and Galaxy Clusters
Open and Globular Clusters
Bright and Dark Nebulae
Planetary Nebulae
All objects within a Constellation
The Herschel 2500 Objects by Constellation
Double Stars by Constellation

New search tool

Wolfram Alpha
a powerful new search tool geared at science, math and other data searches

Spezify
another visual search engine currently in beta, is quietly emerging

Freebase
a lesser known but ambitious project to organize data, also continues to grow

Viewzi
a visual search engine with really promising features continues to get better

Meade Telescope Serial Command Protocol

Meade Telescope Serial Command Protocol PDF

How to Build a Dobsonian Telescope

How to Build a Dobsonian Telescope
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/raycash/manualv2.pdf

Cartes du Ciel Sky Charts

This program enables you to draw sky charts, making use of the data in 16 catalogs of stars and nebulae.
In addition the position of planets, asteroids and comets are shown.

http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/

Deep Sky catalogs

BEST OBJECTS IN THE NEW GENERAL CATALOG
Historical Deep Sky Object List
ARVAL Catalog of Guide Stars
ARVAL Catalog of Bright Open Clusters
The ARVAL Catalog of Bright Globular Clusters
The ARVAL Catalog of Bright Galaxies
The ARVAL Catalog of Bright Nebulae
The ARVAL Catalog of Bright Planetary Nebulae
Messier Catalog, ordered by Season
The Jack Bennett Catalog
Southern Sky Binocular Club
Binocular Deep Sky observing beyond Messier

Estimating Limiting Magnitude

found this nice website
http://obs.nineplanets.org/lm/rjm.html

WorldWide Telescope

WorldWide Telescope (WWT) enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world. Experience narrated guided tours from astronomers and educators featuring interesting places in the sky.


http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/Home.aspx

Worldwide telescope from Jesse Pickard on Vimeo.

Stellarium

Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.
It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go.

http://www.stellarium.org/

Free Beginners Star Atlas in PDF mag 4

intended to beginners for binocular observations, sky reviews, and wide field astrophotography
Format: A4
Charts number: 6
Stars: < 6 - 6,15m
Objects: < 8,75 - 9m
Dec. range: +90° - -90°
Software used: Cartes Du Ciel, Inkscape, Open Office, CutePDF (all freeware)

Download:

http://www.eproject.ru/beginners_star_atlas1.pdf (184kb)
http://www.eproject.ru/beginners_star_atlas2.pdf (184kb)
http://www.eproject.ru/beginners_star_atlas3.pdf (188kb)
http://www.eproject.ru/beginners_star_atlas4.pdf (182kb)
http://www.eproject.ru/beginners_star_atlas5.pdf (173kb)
http://www.eproject.ru/beginners_star_atlas6.pdf (204kb)

http://www.eproject.ru/catalog.pdf (65kb)

FREE* Sky Maps Each Month

download latest issue

Some nice handbooks

Observing Challenges
all should download this

TriAtlas free

TriAtlas

one word "nice"

free logs

Deep Sky Observation Form
Observing Log
Log and Sketch Template
Camera log
Telescope Checklist
Observation sheet 1
Observation sheet 2
Observation sheet 3
Caldwell Object Log
The Simple Observing Log
The Ultimate Messier Object Log
The Overlooked Objects Log

The Mag-7 Star Atlas Project

free star atlas

StarHopping 101

StarHopping 101

30 minute video describes how to

Star Hopping Guide to the Messier Marathon

this is a good guide

Free star Charts

Free PDF Star Charts for the SFA Observatory

Download SFA Star Charts ^[PDF]

Online tools for astronomy

If you know of some more tool that would help this list post a comment

Moon's Phase
Astronomical Sky Calender
Daily Almanac
Hourly Airmass Tables
Object Seasonal Observability
Planetary Positions
Hartmann mask gen

This is the start

I would like this blog to be all about telescope big and small. Let me know if you would like to publish on this blog by sending me your email.

The Night Sky This Week

This is a simple but very useful site which gives clear information on planetary cycles and notable sky events, including details on the most important asteroids, comets, and meteor showers.

http://www.nightskyinfo.com/about/