Open Observing Night

In this article, I will share my latest wide-field astrophotography processing tutorial using star removal and advanced stretching techniques. Wide-field astrophotography opens up stunning views of the night sky, capturing vast regions of stars, nebulae, and constellations. In this guide, I’ll walk you through a game-changing technique to enhance your wide-field images using tools like... […]

This article was last updated on December 4th, 2024.  In this post, I’ll break down how to photograph the Orion Nebula, one of the most spectacular deep-sky objects in the night sky. While it may just look like a smudge to the naked eye, Orion is the nearest, large star-forming region to Earth at just... […]

If you’re looking to buy your first telescope—or your first good telescope—this guide is for you. I’ll cover the most important aspects of a telescope, how much you should expect to spend, and provide four excellent examples to consider. The following choices are obviously not the only ones to choose from, but they offer a... […]

For decades, scientists have tried in vain to accurately predict solar flares — intense bursts of light on the Sun that can send a flurry of charged particles into the solar system. Now, using NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, one team has identified flickering loops in the solar atmosphere, or corona, that seem to signal when […]

Elton W. Miller, chief of aerodynamics at what is now NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, stands in the entrance cone of the Propeller Research Tunnel in this Sept. 9, 1926, photo. In front of the entrance is the Sperry M-1 Messenger, the first full-scale airplane tested in the tunnel. The Propeller Research Tunnel, […]

On Dec. 19, 2024, NASA released two amendments to the NASA Research Announcement Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2024 (NNH24ZDA001N) to announce the E.9 Space Biology: Research Studies and E.12 Physical Sciences Research Studies program elements.   Space Biology Proposals  The research emphases of E.9 Space Biology: Research Studies fall under two broad […]

Northern Hemisphere skywatchers can now spot this horizon-skirting comet. It's a beauty. The post Grab Your Binoculars for Comet ATLAS's Brief Sunset Show appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The first two lunar missions of 2025 — Firefly's Blue Ghost and iSpace's second Hakuto R mission — are now headed to the Moon. The post Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Heads to the Moon appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

After more than a decade in space, the European Gaia spacecraft will end its observations this week. Astronomers are still busy preparing final data blasts. The post Galaxy-mapping Gaia Satellite Ends Science Operations 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 […]