Max Whitman

Observing the Sun Properly

Oct 282011

The Sun is undoubtedly a celestial object that when looked at more closely will alter the way you perceive it in the sky. In contrast to plainly being that bright disk in the sky which is way too intense to be observe, it changes into a mystifying fiery sphere which is ceaselessly warming up as well as illuminating our home, and its real energy and closeness are appreciated. However, lots of people neglect to think about the Sun while they consider observable targets for stargazing, even though it is the absolute brightest body in our sky, for the simple reason that it’s only around in the day rather than the nighttime.

The Sun is truly a excellent source of gratification for stargazers once the right safety practices are utilized to be sure that no injury to the observer’s vision occurs. Even viewing the Sun with the human eye alone can result in permanent sight damage, and attempting to view it with binoculars or a telescope usually just isn’t safe because this practice might cause blindness in a matter of moments. Fortunately there are several risk-free methods of viewing the Sun which permit one to view its remarkably active surface.

When you are viewing the Sun you may very well discover one of its far more fascinating phenomena, the sun spots that reside on its outer surface. These darkish sections are actually areas that are cooler compared to most of the Sun’s exterior. They are brought on by magnetic field activity located at these particular areas preventing heat transfer by means of convection. Sunspots are an active phenomena, emerging and disappearing while lasting for hours to months at a stretch. The biggest spots are recognized to be 50,000km allowing them to be readily viewed via a telescope with a proper filter.

Gazing straight at the Sun is not safe, still there are actually three basic methods to observe the Sun besides the advanced means which are only available in observatories or astronomical satellites. The first one is pinhole projection. This can be done by creating a small opening into a sheet of paper or a card and keeping it in between the Sun and a second white sheet. The sunlight coming from the Sun will shine through the little hole and create a projection on the paper which will show all the detail of the Sun and will be safe to view.

The next way is to project images with an optical aid. Using this method is much like the last, apart from instead of making use of a paper having a little opening, a set of binoculars or a telescope is pointed at the Sun so the image shall be focused out the eye piece onto the white page instead. Make certain not to look at the Sun with the telescope or the binoculars while you are aimed at the Sun as it will certainly destroy the eyes. The last technique is to use solar filters that are obtainable for your telescope and even to start using a solar telescope which are specifically designed for observing the Sun risk-free.

For those of you who are interested in learning more about stargazing as well as the best telescopes available today be sure to check out www.stargazingtonight.com, a complete guide to the stars for those who are interested in learning more about space and astronomy.

How to Properly View a Meteor Shower

Astronomy No Responses »

Oct 282011

One great stargazing activity is to sit back and try and spot as many meteors as you can. Meteors are bits of rock, ice, and other space debris that fall into the atmosphere of the Earth. As this occurs they can be seen as flashes of light that fly across the sky in a very brief period of time, as they burn up in the atmosphere.

Meteor showers are instances that happen when the Earth’s route around the Sun floats all the way through a field which is really thick with particles and space debris, causing an increase in the number of shooting stars observable. There are many annual meteor showers which appear throughout the year, some of which are more extraordinary than the others, and are given their name after the Constellation from which they seem to emanate out of.

Because meteor showers are the result of our planet floating around its orbit right through a patch of rock, the meteors will appear to originate from a point in the night sky from the particular direction the planet earth is presently traveling in, along its orbit. Visualize an automobile driving in a blizzard and the way that all of the flakes move past the front side of the vehicle when you look through the windshield. Most of the meteor showers are due to the planet earth floating into the dust that a comet leaves about during its journey around the Sun.

Watching meteors and meteor showers is best done with the your eyes alone without having any optical aid. While browsing by way of a set of binoculars can uncover a few dimmer meteors that you would not be capable of see otherwise, the reduced field of view in fact will result in you to miss out on a lot more than you will without it. Besides the large vibrant meteors that can be observed using the naked eye happen to be the most astonishing anyways. It is far better simply use your own peripheral eyesight to view the whole sky, as the broad area where meteors are expected to fall may be identified while the exact location of each and every one is merely up to accidental probability.

Given that zero tools are needed, venturing out to take in a meteor shower is often a more relaxed kind of stargazing that amateur astronomers as well as people who have next to no curiosity about astronomy as well as the science of meteors, past the lovely show they create, will enjoy all the same.

If you are interested in learning more about stargazing tips, make certain to check out www.stargazingtonight.com, which features a complete guide to the stars as well as a review of all the best telescopes around today.

The Differences Between the Three Main Types of Telescope

Telescopes No Responses »

Oct 192011

Currently there are really three main varieties of telescope you can buy these days, each of these having their very own particular set of advantages and drawbacks. The three kinds are, refracting telescopes, reflecting telescopes (Newtonian), and Catadioptric (or Compound) telescopes.

Refracting telescopes are usually what many consumers picture when they think of telescopes. These ones are the longer skinny, straight bodied telescopes which have a basic design containing a lens and an eyepiece on opposite ends of the body tube. Refractors are actually the original telescope style, with designs going as far back as the early sixteen hundreds. For a certain aperture length it still offers the finest caliber image, possessing improved image contrasts, thanks to their rather simple design. Refracting telescopes tend to be also the simplest to maintain, which help to make them a perfect choice for people who do not prefer to devote a ton of time maintaining their telescope.

Typically the negative aspects of the refractor model telescope tend to be largely because of to its large overall size. Since it is the largest type of telescope, they happen to be, accordingly, the priciest model for an offered aperture diameter. Furthermore large telescopes are more difficult to pack up and put in place, losing transportability while the size increases. Another downside of a larger telescope is actually that if the mount or tripod that is fixed on are not stable, the telescope can suffer a loss of of its stability during observing, allowing celestial targets to jump about or wobble.

Reflecting Telescopes employ parabolic mirrors in order to reflect light into an eyepiece which will create a picture. The most common model of reflecting telescope is referred to as a “Newtonian Telescope” and gives a great cost for a specific aperture size. The actual eyepiece is found along the side of the tube of the telescope. The contrast quality of the reflecting telescope is comparable to refracting telescopes, if they’re manufactured correctly, and since they have a more compact body compared to refracting telescopes, they’re much more mobile, stable, and as a result much easier to use.

The primary downside to this kind of telescope is the fact that mirror at the bottom demands periodic alignment (also referred to as collimation). This practice isn’t as difficult as it may sound but this kind of toying about is usually a nusance to many folks. Secondly the model is more open to the surrounding air and thus should be cleaned more frequently. Once again nothing very difficult however, some folks would like a far more hassle free telescope maintenance wise.

Compound telescopes are the most contemporary design, employing a mixture of bouncing light with mirrors, and refracting light through lenses, to make a really compact telescope that will provide you with the same magnifications and aperture sizes that the much larger different kind of telescopes offer. For a given aperature size they tend to be a tad more expensive than a reflecting telescope but nonetheless, less than a refracting telescope. The compound design tends to be a well liked preference because it presents the best of all worlds; good sized apertures, at a good cost, being a very small and transportable size. Compounds are also the perfect type of telescope for Go-To intelligent star locating mounts. This may be a real plus for those who do not wish to spend all the effort mastering the expertise of object location and want to spend more hours just observing.

The primary down side of catadiotropic scopes are due mainly to the fact that the light becomes folded up inside the tube of the telescope so many times, that the inside becomes lighter, minimizing much of the contrast. Several consumers find this fallback to be a tolerable trade-off for all of the aperture, cost, and portability advantages is offers.

Be sure to visit www.stargazingtonight.com, it offers a complete guide to the stars and also a a guide to all the best telescopes available today.

The Most Important Feature in a Telescope

Astronomy No Responses »

Oct 182011

Choosing and investing in a telescope might turn out to be a daunting undertaking for many individuals, especially for people which are choosing and buying for the first time. There may appear to be numerous choices and factors to take into consideration, but the majority of of them are truly due to personalized preference and the exact features one imparticular is attempting to get out of thier telescope. Below you will find the important factors to think about while picking out a telescope.

Probably the most frequent mistake people make in regards to searching for their initial telescope is without a doubt centering only on the magnification associated with the telescope. The fact of the matter is truly the magnification is just not nearly as vital as the aperture. Aperture, in terms of telescopes, is the width of the lens that gathers light from celestial objects inside the body of the telescope. The bigger the aperture dimension, the brighter objects seem to be in the viewfinder, which means the larger amount of dim stars that could be witnessed. A prevalent misconception is the notion that those deep space galaxies out there that can’t be seen with the un-aided eye, are that way due to the fact they look too tiny, whereas usually it is really because they’re just simply just too faint. Hence the best feature you should spend your hard-earned cash in the direction of when it comes to optical performance is aperture size.

The aperture additionally determines the amount of effective magnification a telescope has. It is not encouraged to try to purchase magnifications of more than 50 times the aperture in inches (or two times the aperture in millimeters). Meaning that if your telescope has an 6″ aperture, don’t expect to manage to see effectively with magnifications in excess of 300x. Above that, the telescope’s aperture size wouldn’t be equipped to support the higher magnifications creating a view will be unclear.

As far as the actual magnifications of telescopes are concerned, they normally are decided by the eyepiece applied. Telescopes will often have a minimum of one eyepiece, and extra are available. Several less expensive telescopes possess fixed eyepiece that has a set magnification, most can be adapted to have as high of a magnification as is required (remember the helpful magnification is restricted by the aperture).

With any luck , that this guidance has aided you in discovering the most critical things to look for in a telescope. Don’t forget, aperature is certainly far more beneficial than magnifaction while picking a telescope and all the rest of the features and factors are generally up to individual preference and whether or not you feel they are worth the extra cost.

Make sure to check out www.stargazingtonight.com, a great guide to the stars for those people interested in stargazing, which includes astronomical dates as well as a guide to all the best telescopes available today.

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World Wide SETI

Max Whitman

Observing the Sun Properly

How to Properly View a Meteor Shower

The Differences Between the Three Main Types of Telescope

The Most Important Feature in a Telescope

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