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This summer, we traded in our usual short camping trips for a big adventure: three weeks on the road to Newfoundland.   We drove more than 6,000 KM (3,728 miles), stayed at 12 campgrounds, hiked trails, worked from the road, visited breweries, and explored new cities – all with Rudy in tow.   This was... […]

Last Updated September 28, 2025 I recently assembled a budget astrophotography rig to capture deep-sky objects in my backyard. While I knew this system would be very capable, I was astonished by the quality of the pictures I took with it. Astrophotography (and photography in general) can be an expensive hobby, with high-end equipment often... […]

If you’ve been looking at entry-level refractor telescopes for astrophotography and wondering whether it’s worth stepping up to a triplet APO, the SVBONY SV550 deserves a close look. Available in both 80mm and 122mm apertures, the SV550 telescope is designed with astrophotography in mind, but it’s also a capable instrument for visual observing. In this... […]

by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific September 2025 marks ten years since the first direct detection of gravitational waves as predicted by Albert Einstein’s 1916 theory of General Relativity. These invisible ripples in space were first directly detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Traveling at the speed of light […]

NASA and Blue Origin are reopening media accreditation for the launch of the agency’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission. The twin ESCAPADE spacecraft will study the solar wind’s interaction with Mars, providing insight into the planet’s real-time response to space weather and how solar activity drives atmospheric escape. This will be […]

NASA, along with leaders from global space agencies and government representatives worldwide, convened on Monday to further the implementation of the Artemis Accords — practical principles designed to guide the responsible exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The meeting was held during the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) taking place in Sydney. In opening […]

Circumstances are ideal for watching debris from Halley's Comet set the morning sky ablaze. The post Dip a Toe in the Orionid Meteor Stream on Oct. 20-21 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet will aim a suite of instruments at Comet 3I/ATLAS to capture details about this enigmatic object. The post Mars Orbiters' Front-row Seats to the Interstellar Comet appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Sky & Telescope’s 2025 “Galileo’s Italy” tour offered much more than sightseeing, as participants enjoyed multiple opportunities to stand on astronomical hallowed ground. The post In the Footsteps of Galileo 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 […]