AstroPioneer

Continuing our series on low-powered astronomy following our look at the Double Cluster in Perseus , we are turning our sights to another remarkable target in the same region: the Alpha Persei Cluster. While the famous Pleiades (M45) will appear in an upcoming episode, this massive open cluster is an incredible deep-sky gem that deserves just as much attention. What can you see through binoculars What is the Alpha Persei Cluster? Also cataloged as Melotte 20 and Collinder 39, the Alpha Persei Cluster surrounds Alpha Persei, the brightest star in the constellation Perseus. While modern astronomy often relies on brightness designations, this prominent anchor star is traditionally known as Mirfak. Centered around Mirfak's luminous glow, the cluster presents a loose, glittering cascade of dozens of bright, blue-white stars scattered across the dark backdrop of space. How to Find It Click to enlarge Sky Map Finding the cluster is straightforward by using neighbor...

Here are some of the astronomical and stargazing highlights for January to March 2027, following on from the previous quarter's Almanac . This covers both large and small night sky events that is possible to calculate in advance!

What if I told you that spending thousands on a massive telescope is actually the worst way to view some of the most stunning sights in our night sky? Welcome to the world of low-powered astronomy, where we prove that sometimes, less magnification gives you a much better view. The Problem with High Magnification When viewing wide-field objects like the Double Cluster, a massive telescope can actually ruin the view. In a telescope, you might not get the whole cluster in the eyepiece, or it might just appear as a generic star field, losing all that gorgeous context. The Binocular Advantage The answer isn't a bigger telescope; it's stepping back entirely. This is where binoculars and wide-field refractor telescopes come in. A cheap but decent pair of 10x50mm binoculars covers such a large region of the sky that it makes seeing the context of the double cluster easy. This lowers the bar for new people entering our hobby, and for the experienced amateur, ...

Here are some of the astronomical and stargazing highlights for October to December 2026. This covers both large and small night sky events that is possible to calculate in advance!

As you know if you watched my solar eclipse episode, watch it below! I took the decision to do a more panoramic view of the solar eclipse instead of a magnified shot. This was mostly because having the landscape gave me the opportunity to show the progression of the solar eclipse in the context of it's surroundings rather than just a magnified view of the sun. To start with though I needed solar eclipse glasses I wouldn't always be using the camera to view the eclipse and would want to view it with my own eyes! So to do this I chose the EclipSmart glasses from Celestron . When viewing the sun I never want to take chances. Needless to say never view the sun directly without proper protection and that's not sunglasses!! Before using any solar films (which are in the EclipSmart glasses) I always hold it up to a bright light to ensure the film hasn't been perforated. I was especially concerned because my children were viewing the eclipse with me and unfortunately there are ...

As you may know from my recent video , I am heading off to Majorca to try and see the solar eclipse! But it's not just a solar eclipse—it also coincides with the Perseids, one of the best meteor showers of the year. Even better, this year there is no moon to mess up the dark skies! Since I am currently sitting in the airport waiting for my flight, I thought I would start this blog to document the journey and share real-time updates. That way, I can take all of you along with me! ​Check back on this post for more updates as the adventure unfolds. Update Friday the 7th of August It looks like the entire island is going to be locked down transport wise. I unless you are a local this is going to make things more difficult. To add to this it doesn't seem like it will be possible to get a good view from the hotel. But I do have some other ideas to try. The basic plan is to try a location at sunset and check that the sun is visible on the horizon from. 7:38pm - 8:31pm. Upd...