Celestron SkyMaster 25x100 Binoculars - Review I was introduced to astronomy at 13 with a 60mm TASCO telescope on a terrible Alt-Az mount. I used that scope consistently and frequently until I discovered girls. Thirty years later, I acquired a nearly identical scope as part of an estate. I was considering something in the way of a 102 f/5 as a grab and go when I saw advertisements for the new generation of 100mm binoculars (Apogee, Celestron, and Oberwerk). The binoculars were ordered late Tuesday, shipped Wednesday, and would have arrived Friday, but that was the 4th of July. That evening I took the binoculars out of their case and got my first chance to look at them. I installed the binoculars backwards on the mount to get the pan/tilt handle up away from the tripod legs and balanced the binoculars so that the spring in the tilt axis just balanced them when they were horizontal. With a longer screw and the binoculars securely attached to the tripod, I stopped for a minute to look at them. So, it’s on to Vega.
Clear Sky Chart Homepage What is it? It's the astronomers forecast. It shows at a glance when, in the next 48 hours, we might expect clear and dark skies for one specific observing site. There are many, but the example above is for Texas Star Party (the most sponsored chart). It's is specifically intended for amateur astronomers. Read from left to right. If you find this image, or the underlying forecast maps, useful please email Allan Rahill. Are there Charts for other locations? Yes, thousands. May I get my own Chart? If you observe at a site more than 24km or 15 miles from an existing chart site, feel free to request a chart for it. I can generate charts for almost anywhere in Canada and US. To ask for a CSC, email me with: Latitude and longitude accurate to at least 0.01 degree or 1 arcminute. I reserve the right to offer you a different chart that is still close enough to give maximally accurate forecasts. There is no cost.
Meade Telescopes, Celestron Telescopes and Telescope Accessories - OPT Telescopes An Atlas of The Universe Tasco Galaxsee 114375 Tasco Galaxsee 114375 Submitted: Thursday, 21st December 2006 by Pete Moulton Optically it is an f500mm scope with a 4.5" (114mm) mirror, 3 "eyepieces" (MA 20mm, MA 10mm and SR 4mm and filters), 3 x Barlow, small Red Dot finder scope, Equatorial Mount, and comes with Tasco's SkyWatch software. Astronomy is about having fun, yet reading some forums, beginners may get the impression that you need a zillion dollar Meade StiltScope telescope and a handful of TeleVue UltraCost eyepieces at $500 a shot to achieve this. Remember that there is a world of difference between the astronomers at Perth Observatory and the back yard telescope brigade. You will notice that I have deliberately included calculations and a bit of optical theory, since I believe that you should know the maths before you consider buying. If you have about $200 to spend, most astronomers will advise you to get a good pair of binoculars, a planisphere and a tripod with a bino mount. This is only half of the equation.
Astronomy Picture of the Day Mason Neck State Park Clear Sky Chart It's the astronomer's forecast. At a glance, it shows when it will be cloudy or clear for up to the next two days. It's a prediction of when Mason Neck State Park, VA, will have good weather for astronomical observing. The data comes from a forecast model developed by Allan Rahill of the Canadian Meteorological Center. CMC's numerical weather forecasts are unique because they are specifically designed for astronomers. But they have 763 forecast maps. So, I (Attilla Danko) wrote a script to generate the images like the one above which summarizes CMC's forecast images just for Mason Neck State Park and the surroundings out to about 10 miles. There are charts for 4699 locations. Summary: In the rows labeled "sky conditions", find a column of blue blocks. Details: Read the image from left to right. The line, labeled Cloud Cover forecasts total cloud cover. CMC's text page explaining this forecast is here. The line, labeled Transparency, forecasts the transparency of the air.
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