Great Lakes Star Gaze

A total lunar eclipse is a celestial event that anyone can appreciate. Amateur photographers and astrophotographers alike are preparing to photograph a lunar eclipse using a wide range of camera equipment. The best part? You don’t need expensive gear or special filters to capture a great shot. You can get impressive results with the right... […]

I’ve recently been made aware of the Seti Astro Statistical Stretch standalone tool for astrophotography image processing. This is a simple and free tool you can use as a part of your image processing workflow that I think you will find very handy.  Frank is an extremely generous developer and amateur astrophotographer who has released... […]

The SVBONY SV555 is a variable aperture prime focus lens/telescope designed for wide-field astrophotography. Many of you have been requesting a review of an SVBONY telescope for years, and today, I’m excited to share my thoughts on this one. The SV555 Petzval lens is an interesting option in the competitive market of wide-field refractor telescopes,... […]

NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free announced Wednesday his retirement, effective Saturday, Feb. 22. As associate administrator, Free has been the senior advisor to NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro and leads NASA’s 10 center directors, as well as the mission directorate associate administrators at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He is the agency’s chief operating officer for […]

One semester as a NASA Pathways intern was enough to inspire Portia Keyes to sign up for a Russian language class at college. After interning in the Johnson Space Center’s Office of Procurement, Keyes hoped to someday use her new language skills in support of the International Space Station Program. Now, 12 years later, Keyes […]

In an effort to learn more about astronaut health and the effects of space on the human body, NASA is conducting a new experiment aboard the International Space Station to speed up the detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, thus improving the health safety not only of astronauts but patients back on Earth. Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant […]

Almaaz, also called Epsilon Aurigae, is among the weirder stars of the night sky — a supergiant with a dust-enshrouded companion. The post Meet Almaaz, the Billy Goat Star appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

New research explores how the cracking of a neutron star’s crust might determine how fast these extreme stellar remnants can spin. The post Cracking Crusts Might Set Neutron Star Speed Limit appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Jupiter makes a triangle with Aldebaran and the Pleiades. Mars makes a nicer triangle with Pollux and Castor. The pre-dawn Moon hangs with Spica, then Antares. The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 14 – 23 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

 Anybody still coming here?

My own Hubble View! These galaxies lie between 10 to 50 million light years away. How many galaxies do you see? A pretty tricky part of the sky to image, really. You're utilizing almost your entire field of view with an 80mm scope, so dealing with all that comes with wide-field. This is the best […]

A nice clear night last night until around 12:30 when clouds rolled in. Managed to get this image of the lovely M51 Whirlpool galaxy. It lies around 23 million light years away and it is interacting with a smaller galaxy (yellow~ish bulge to the left). Three supernova (star explosions) have been detected in this galaxy […]