Posts

How to find Polaris: Also Known as the Pole Star and North Star

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I was in the South Downs, a dark sky site, looking at the night sky and I thought it was a great opportunity to explain how easy it is to find Polaris.

How to Identify Unidentified Objects in the Night Sky

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Several nights ago, I tried to see the Perseid Meteor Shower in Charmouth, an idyllic south coast town, but the weather wasn't cooperating. I was also using my DSLR to try and capture some of the fainter meteors. I, however, noticed an unusual object when I was going through the photos later on that I wasn't sure how to identify, so in this article I'll share what I did to identify that object, and maybe this will help you identify objects in the night sky as well that you are unsure about.

Ten Tips on How to Get More From Your Telescope

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A question that comes up quite a lot and that is how to get the most out of your telescope I have come up with 10 tips that can help you get more from your telescope.

An Introduction to Landscape Astrophotography (Capturing the Milky Way, Planets and more)

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Landscape photography of the night sky is the most straightforward type of astrophotography. In this article I am going to explain how to get started in it. In recent years, advances in mobile phone technology have made astrophotography increasingly accessible to the amateur.

How to Create Star Trails the Easy Way and with Free Software!

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In this article I would like to talk about one of the simplest forms of astrophotography but also one of the most beautiful, star trails.

How to Collimate a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope (SCT)

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In this article I am going to discuss the collimation of SCT's this is a worry for a lot of people, but in fact it is quite simple and even more important that an aligned finderscope or clean eyepieces . 

Turn any Telescope into a Solar Telescope

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This article will show you how to turn any telescope, pair of binoculars, or camera into a solar telescope by using solar safety film. Solar safety film can be added to the front of any optical instrument and you can buy it as a plain sheet of solar safety film . You can then cut it to the size you want and mount it on the front. Before using any solar film, you should always check that it does not have any holes. To do so, you need to hold the film up to a source of light to make sure no light is shining through. You can then attach it to your telescope or binoculars, remember if you attach it to binoculars to cover both objective lenses. Do remember to securely attach the filters so they do not fall off accidentally. Once on there you can look through there with a camera or your own eyes and you will be able to see the sun. Another important safety step is that before doing any solar observing is to make sure you cover up the finderscopes or other optical equipment that you are not a

How to Clean Your Telescope Eyepieces (Its easy if you follow these simple instructions)

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While you should not clean your lenses too often as many lenses are coated in special substances. Keeping your eyepieces clean is just as important as  aligning your finderscope  or collimating your telescope .  The reason your eyepieces get dirty is because the eyepieces regularly comes into contact your face and eye lashes, causing grease to build up on the lens, which can cause your views to be affected.

How to Align Your Finderscope (It's Easier Than You Think)

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A finderscope really helps you find your astronomical target by showing you a wider field of view of the night sky of where your telescope is currently pointing. However, for the finderscope to be useful it must be aligned with your main telescope.