Space and astronomy news
[/caption] Wow! Take a look at this image captured by award-winning French astrophotographer Thierry Legault. The visible detail of the shuttle and parts of the International Space Stations is absolutely amazing! If you remember, Legault also took images of space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope transiting the sun back in May during the …
Continue reading “Stunning Image of ISS and Endeavour Transitting Sun”
So what’s the latest telescope I’ve been testing? This time it’s a Vixen R130Sf Newtonian Reflector Telescope and PortaMount II. I can tell you right now that I’ve never laid my hands on a telescope that I was more comfortable with out of the box than this one… But, I guess I really need to …
This beautiful Leo spiral galaxy – NGC 2903 – is only some 20 million light-years away and is one of the brightest galaxies visible from the northern hemisphere. Despite easily being seen in larger binoculars and small telescopes, for some reason it was never included in Charles Messier’s famous catalog of celestial grandeur. “You don’t …
Continue reading “I Could’a Been A Contender… NGC 2903 by Warren Keller”
In this new generation of everything high def – from computer screen to televisions – is it possible to create a high definition telescope? The answer is yes… And the designer is Celestron. As always, I keep my eyes and ears open when it comes to the latest in astronomy equipment. While I’ve seen a …
Continue reading “A High Definition Telescope? Yeah… The Celestron EdgeHD!”
[/caption] Almost everyone who is familiar with space images has seen this beautiful and color emission and reflection nebula – but take a really close look. This isn’t a Hubble image. It was done with a ground based camera! When looking at M20 through a telescope, what you will see won’t match the photo above, …
So, you think you’re a great astrophotographer? Then this is for you: the Bad Astronomer announced today he is hosting an astrophotography contest, sponsored by Discover Magazine and Celestron Telescopes. Phil himself will be the judge, so all you need to do is figure out what images he really likes and then get snapping! There …
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! Have you been watching the lovely crescent Moon as it climbs higher each night? What a beauty! With warmer nights in the northern hemisphere and cooler evenings bringing clear, deep views to the south – why not spend some time stargazing? We’ve got some great lunar features lined up for you to …
Continue reading “Weekend SkyWatcher’s Forecast – May 29-31, 2009”
[/caption] About 13 million light-years away in the constellations Canes Venatici, there’s a cloud. No, it’s not the same clouds that most of us have been experiencing lately – but a cluster of galaxies which appear form a single large cloud-like structure. The one we’re focusing on is Canes Venatici I, just a small section …
Continue reading “M94 – The “Cat’s Eye” Galaxy by Roth Ritter”
[/caption] No, these aren’t sunspots finally appearing on our currently quiet sun. Check out these amazing images taken by photographer Thierry Legault. The “spots” are actually the space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope transiting across the sun! Legault’s website says these are the only images ever taken of a transit of a shuttle …
Continue reading “Amazing Images of Shuttle and Hubble Transiting Sun”
[/caption] The Whirlpool Galaxy is also known as Messier 51a, and it’s one of the most familiar galaxies. If you’ve seen a picture of a galaxy captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, chances are you were looking at the Whirlpool Galaxy. That’s because this galaxy, located about 23 million light-years away in the constellation Canes …