I had the pleasure of attending a small star party the other night on top of Kitt Peak in southern Arizona. For those of you not familiar with the name, it is home to the Kitt Peak National Observatory. We had a smallish moon to contend with throughout the night, but it was a wonderful experience nonetheless. Skies were amazingly clear and otherwise dark. The star party was organized as a side event for attendees of the International Dark Sky Association’s 20th annual general meeting which I was in town for.

We got a tour of the facilities which are home to a battery of telescopes ranging in size from small personal telescopes to the giant 4 meter telescope. Our portion of the star party had us under the dome at the visitor center (seen behind me in the accompanying image) taking in the sky with a 20″ RC telescope. Our “guide” showed us the planet Saturn, The Ring Nebula (M57), globular cluster M5 and galaxy M82. Each showed an amazing amount of detail… offered only to observers viewing under dark skies. Those of you under light polluted skies… sorry about this. You’ll need to arrange a road trip if you’d like to truly enjoy these objects.

On a related note, the accompanying image was taken by fellow dark sky warrior,  Lance Diskan. Lance is the founder of the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition. Given that Flagstaff has the distinction of being The International Dark Sky Association’s First Dark Sky City, it’s obvious that Lance carries some serious dark sky credentials. Lance and his team over at Flagstaff Dark Skies are working tirelessly to protect and preserve the dark, star-filled skies above Flagstaff. All sky watchers owe these guys a debt of gratitude, not just those in Flagstaff. Their accomplishments just go to show what a small group of dedicated individuals can accomplish.  I find it absolutely amazing that such a small portion of those who love the night sky actually do anything at all to protect it. This is a sad commentary on our society. We need more people like Lance to show up at planning commission meetings and tell them that we are sick and tired of the crummy lights that are regularly installed. If just a small number of folks showed up at each community, we could make some serious head way.

Solar activity has been on the rise lately… with a slew of prominences showing up. I missed a huge one yesterday because of the weather. Fortunately, clear skies came before things fully subsided. As you can see… solar imaging is a whole new endeavor for me. I’m currently shooting with the Coronado mounted on a camera tripod. This puts some limits on what I can do. I’ve also got to work out some focusing details when I use eyepiece projection to capture the image. Anyway… it was nice to get out for a quick break this afternoon.

Astro Photo Details:

* Designation: The Sun
* Magnitude: roughly mag -27 * Size: roughly 1/2*

Astro Photo Processing Details

* Canon Digital Rebel XTi
* 1/60s at ISO400
*PhotoShop CS2 Curves (mac version)
* Coronado Solar Max 40 Solar Telescope

Checkout some of my other Solar Images if you have a minute.

I’ve always enjoyed viewing our star. Watching sunspots grow and morph over time has always fascinated me. Up until the arrival of my new Coronado Solar Max 40 telescope, this has meant that solar flares and coronal mass ejections were off limits. CME’s are some of the most spectacular views in astronomy, so adding them to my list of observing targets is a big plus.

My first thoughts when unboxing the Solar Max was…its cute. I mean that in a positive way :)  It is a 40mm f/10 aperture. That’s a 400mm focal length… or about a 16″ telescope. Many folks have larger aperture binoculars (i do).  The scope is a beauty though. Craftsmanship is definitely a priority for Coronado. This is as stout as a tiny telescope can get.

As the weather gods would have it after any optics purchase, skies have been cloudy with copious quantities of snow falling for the last several days (over 2 feet in less than a week). The new year is expected to bring clear skies…. or so they say. Look for future updates on my progress with this beauty.

Many people find themselves in the possession of a new telescope this time of year. For some, it is the fulfillment of a dream, for others, a quite unexpected surprise. If you’re one of these people, you may be wondering to yourself… now what? What in the world am I going to do with this shiny new telescope? How in the world will I ever be able to find anything besides the Moon to observe? Let me give you some advice right up front. Stop. Take a deep breath. Relax. It doesn’t need to be an overwhelming proposition. Getting to know your telescope… and the night sky… are things that virtually anyone can do. Think of it like this… when you first met your best friend… did it instantly feel like a future best friendship? LIkely not. Sure, you may have hit it off well, but friendships take time to develop. The same is true for your understanding of your telescope… and (perhaps more importantly) with the night sky. Take it night by night and step by step and you’ll develop a passion that will last a lifetime.

Ok, you’re feeling more relaxed now, right? The first thing you need to do is get to learn about your telescope. Is it a reflector? A refractor? A catadioptric (huh?)? A catadioptric is a mix of a reflector and a refractor. First up… reflectors have mirrors and reflect the light that strikes them. Refractors have lenses and refract light. Catadioptric telescopes are hybrids… having lenses and mirrors. The type of telescope that you have determines how it collects light. Light collection (not magnification) is the single most significant characteristic of telescopes. Most of what you’ll be looking at through your telescope is too faint to see with the unaided eye. Galaxies, nebulae and star clusters are all quite distant and (typically) quite faint. It is the light gathering ability of your telescope that will reveal them to you. Your telescope will typically have a focuser. This is where you’ll put your eyepieces and focus the image being created. There are many good resources on each type of telescope. Search for a couple of these and you should find out more than you’re likely to need to know to operate your new piece of equipment. Read as much or as little for you to feel comfortable.

The next thing you’ll need to do is to familiarize yourself with the night sky. Even if you got a ‘goto telescope’, I can’t tell you with stronger conviction that you should gain a very comfortable understanding of the layout of the night sky. For this, a star chart or planisphere is key. These show you the night sky for a given time of year. Seek out and learn the names of the brightest stars in the sky… at least for the current season. Many people are familiar with the constellation Orion and its famous belt. This is a great starting point. If not, this is an easy one to find. Simply head outside shortly after dark and look to the southeast (for those in the northern hemisphere). Orion is a large constellation with a number of very bright stars. It is generally rectangular in shape and is cut by 3 bright stars in a diagonal. This is the belt of Orion. This is your key to learning the winter night sky. The stars of Orion are so bright that they tend to stand out even under light polluted skies. To the upper left of Orion is Betelgeuse.  To the lower right is Rigel. These are 2 of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. From here, you can use your star chart to learn the constellations that border Orion.

Above Orion is the Constellation Taurus led by the bright star Aldebaran. Above this (north) is the constellation Auriga led by the bright star Capella. East of these constellations is Gemini with its twins Castor and Pollux. Smack in the middle of all of this is the red planet Mars. Mars is currently at its biggest and brightest for the year, so you won’t be able to miss this. This little swath of night sky is full of literally dozens of Messier Objects. Messy what? Messier Objects. Google this. Seriously. The Messier Objects are what you’ll spend a good portion of your observing time chasing after and observing. These are what most amateur astronomers cut their teeth on. They are a list of some of the finest objects to be observed in amateur telescopes. The Orion Nebula, The Andromeda Galaxy, The Hercules Cluster. These are just a few of the amazing astronomical objects that inhabit the night sky… waiting for you to seek and eventually find them. The stars and constellations listed above are your roadmap. Study them well and these and countless other objects are there for the taking. Head out whenever you have the opportunity. Even if you won’t be able to use your telescope. Just get out under the stars and you’ll slowly come to know them as you know your good friends.