ASTRONOMY FOR BEGINNERS

Information about what sort of equipment to buy, what to look for in a telescope, and where to point the thing once you've got it
Theres also other useful stuff about astronomy in general, and some handy links to other useful pages.
If you're interested in astrophotography you can have a look at the pictures I've taken, upload your own, and learn how to do it in the astrophotography section. Have a look at the brand new telescope reviews section
If you've got a telescope, tell everyone what you think about it by submitting a review




ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
TIPS & TECHNIQUES


This page contains information on astrophotography with the ETX or just about any other telescopes
Please send tips with pertinent details on how you've used your 35mm or digital camera or video camera for astrophotography to Mike Weasner.
For many examples of astrophotography, see the Galleries listed on the Site home page.
For information on accessories used for astrophotography, see the Accessories - Astrophotography and Accessories - Showcase Products pages




Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive



A fantastic collection of space object photos taken by NASA from June 16,1995 to present. Just about any cosmos photo you could think of. You'll probably want to bookmark this one for sure.




Astrophotography and Nature

Starting with a digital camera enables you to learn all of the basic steps in astronomic image acquisition: focusing, acquisition, flat, dark and bias correction, and then image processing using Christian Buil’s IRIS. It is then possible to move on to CCD cameras specially made for astronomy. These provide high sensitivity and excellent quantum efficiency.




Rod Mollise's Astro Land!



Come on in and set a spell. Put your feet up. Let me get you a glass of that wonderful concoction we here at Chaos Manor South love so well, REBEL YELL!
We're here to talk everything there is to talk about astronomy.
And especially to introduce you to SCT User, the worldwide mailing list for users of Schmidt Cassegrains and other catadioptric telescopes, and The Mobile Astronomical Society, Mobile Alabama's very own astronomy club




Adventures in Deep Space



Too much to list here, check this site out!




Robert Gibala (Norway)


Astro pictures taken with the PixCel 237 ( ST-237 ) and a Celestron Compustar 8




Dark Light Imagery


My CCD camera of choice is a PixCel 237 manufactured for Celestron by SBIG. It is coupled to a Celestron Celestar Fastar compatible 8 inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope. This instrument allows very wide field views of the heavens when used with the PixCel 237




Deep Arizona Sky Images


Images acquired with Pixcel 237 CCD camera on Celestron Ultima 2000 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope




Carpe Noctum Astroimaging



Hello everyone. I have only been into "serious" amateur astronomy since late September, 1998, but have really been having a blast. I currently have a Celestron Ultima 2000 (8" SCT) with Fastar Optics allowing either f/10 or f/1.95. I am imaging using a PixCel 237 CCD (manufactured for Celestron by Santa Barbara Instrument Group) which yields images upwards of 640 x 480. All equipment purchased from Starizona in Tucson (Thanks for all your help, Dean.). I image from my backyard in Tucson, Arizona using polar alignment via a wedge. The nights here are almost always perfect (which is why we have so many observatories in and around Tucson




CCD Astronomy



There are links, how to pages, photographs, much more. Comments, submissions, and corrections are always welcome




Christopher E. Spratt's Astronomy Page


A Site Dedicated To The Astrometry Of Comets And Asteroids. This site enables me to share information related to amateur astronomy with others interested in such activities. You will find descriptions of my equipment, reviews of equipment and a small selection of some of the non-astrometry images I've taken




COOL OBSERVATORY


Here's where the awesome imaging power of Amateur Astronomers will be displayed and explained. Most people never look up. My goal is to show you the wonders of Gods' creation, and the fact that you don't need to go to Mount Wilson to go stargazing




30 years of Astronomy
Equipment Advertisements


Though these pages surely could not hold all the ads that came and went over the last 30 years, they includes enough to serve two purposes:
1) a reminiscent walk through the memories of our hobby
2) help for those interested in the "good deals" of the used telescope market; this may give them an idea of just what in the world they are selling!




Homepage of R.J. Stekelenburg



Topics include:
  • Astronomy: taking pictures by video imaging through a telescope and using image enhancement software
  • Photogallery
  • Astrostack Software - Freeware
    • (AstroStack has some essential tools in order to load and combine a set of pictures (from an AVI video or a sequence of bitmaps) and make it into a detailed and noise free image. I wrote it to make my own work easier and improve my results and believe others could benefit from it too. )




    Astro-Tom's HomePage


    Topics include:
  • Astronomy Essentials
  • Our Solar System
  • Astronomical Distances
  • Constellations
  • Planet Classification
  • Observing Stars vs Planets
  • Orbits and Phases of the Moon and Planets
  • Eclipses
  • Meteors
  • Craters
  • Iridium Flares
  • Basic Astronomy Dictionary
  • Buying Telescopes
  • Beginner's Advice
  • Eyepieces
  • Magnification Guide
  • Easy Two Star Rough Polar Alignment
  • Complete Instructions for Building a Dobsonian Telescope
  • Sidereal Time
  • Universal Time
  • Calendars
  • Eyepiece Specifications
  • Useful Formulas
  • Inverse Square Law
  • Celestial Coordinate System
  • Elliptical Orbits (Kepler's Three Laws)
  • Precession
  • The Stellar Magnitude Scale
  • Nearest Stars (Distances, location, etc.)
  • Alien Life (The Drake Equation)
  • Pronunciation Guide
  • List of Manufacturers
  • Suggested Books
  • Polar Alignment - Rough, Accurate, and Precision Methods for Photography
  • Superb article on Dewing
  • 1x Finder Scopes
  • Star Party Answers
  • Cleaning Optics
  • Tips on Participating in a Messier Marathon
  • Basic Dictionary
  • Advanced Dictionary
  • Biographies: Galileo Galilei, Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler





    • Dan Cheng's Astrophotography Page

    Meade SSC-10 f6.3 scope, Meade Pictor 201XT autoguider,two 35mm SLR camera bodies: a Pentax ME Super and a Ricoh KR-5. Lots of tips & hints on shooting astrophotography. A very informative site. Check it out, lots of photos too.




    Keith's Astro Page


    A neat page with lots of astrophotos from around the world. Here you'll find his collection of programs, photos, links, and topics relating to astronomy and astrophotography. Unless otherwise noted all photos in the gallery were taken with a 35mm camera and 50mm lens.




    Chris Vedeler's Astrophotography Gallery


    Deep Sky, Solar System, Tips & Techniques, CCD Images, Telescopes & Cameras, plus a comprehensive photo gallery of how he constructed his roll off roof backyard observatory.




    Andy's Astronomy Page

    This page is a resource of information for astronomy, astrophotography and general information of what's visible in the skies. This page will be updated frequently, so visit often. Please feel free to e-mail me any comments, suggestions, or ideas to help make this page more informative or appealing.
    >




    Ian's Astro Page

    Scratchings, where I talk about Astronomy and things I've been doing. ( A bit of slide copying with the Olympus 2020z , buying a Meade LX-90, making a dew/light shield). Sketches where I provide small drawings of what various objects look like from a light polluted site using a Nexstar 5 and Meade LX-90 with the standard supplied eyepieces.
    Links. Links to LX-90 sites, UK telescope suppliers and the largest list you'll find on the Internet to sites with sketches. Piggyback. How I built a cheap piggyback camera adaptor to fit onto the Nexstar using simple tools and a drainpipe clip from a local DIY store. New pictures now added.




    Phil Harrington's Star Ware (and More!) Home Page

    This web site has been developed as an extension of the books and articles by astronomy author and educator Phil Harrington. Topics cover choosing and using astronomical equipment, observing selected sky targets, information on solar and lunar eclipses, and much more. Here, you will find updates, excerpts, corrections, and additional material available
    >



    Back to Astronomy Menu

    Back to Rick's Harley Stuff