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Michael’s Miscellany: More observing tips

Michael E. Bakich — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:18:16 +0000

Before you set your telescope up next time, read through the four following items. I hope one or more of them will help you get more from your session. Finding the Sun You’ve placed your solar filter on the front of your telescope and want to point it at the Sun, but you’re not certainContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: More observing tips"

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Michael’s Miscellany: Observing Awards

Michael E. Bakich — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 14:24:36 +0000

Some amateur astronomers love observing awards. They pursue them with vigor and eagerly await the appearance of the next list of objects. Other amateurs couldn’t care less about them. They would rather not be bothered filling out forms or submitting log entries, however much they may like the objects on the list itself. Personally, IContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Observing Awards"

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Top 15 guide books for astronomy beginners

Raymond Shubinski — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 18:57:07 +0000

An interest in astronomy may strike early in life or later. Regardless of what lit the fire of that interest, you need knowledge to help you understand the universe. Some of the most important sources of information are the many beginner’s guides on astronomy. No matter what form these guides may take, they provide theContinue reading "Top 15 guide books for astronomy beginners"

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Michael’s Miscellany: Sidereal Time

Michael E. Bakich — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 14:41:25 +0000

The basic unit of astronomical time measurement is the day, one rotation of Earth on its axis. But there is more than one way to define day. We can define it based on the Sun. One solar day is the time for the Sun to leave and return to your local meridian, the imaginary line that joins theContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Sidereal Time"

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Michael’s Miscellany: The Observer’s Eye

Michael E. Bakich — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 15:11:12 +0000

When you set up your telescope, you want to give yourself the best chance to make successful observations. Top-notch equipment will certainly help, but another key is knowledge. Here are a few things about the eye that I’ve learned through the years. OK, decades. Astigmatism The best corrective device for astigmatism seems to be hardContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: The Observer’s Eye"

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Michael’s Miscellany: Image contrast

Michael E. Bakich — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 14:35:16 +0000

All amateur astronomers, both visual observers and imagers, want their views to display great contrast. Contrast is the difference in brightness between various parts of a telescopic image. When light is scattered in the field of view, for whatever reason, it reduces the difference between the dark and bright areas of the image. Contrast isContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Image contrast"

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Michael’s Miscellany: The Eyes Have It

Michael E. Bakich — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 14:54:37 +0000

I thought I’d write a bit about several eye-related topics. First up is resolution, which is the ability to see details in objects. We have decreased resolution at night, and little color vision as well, for multiple reasons: reduced numbers of retinal cells firing, the color shift in sensitivity vs. the focus ability of theContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: The Eyes Have It"

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Michael’s Miscellany: The Spring Sky

Michael E. Bakich — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 14:38:00 +0000

Ah, spring. Finally, it’s warm enough for even thin-blooded observers (like me) to break out their binoculars and telescopes. If you’re new to astronomy, however, you’ll want to become familiar with the constellations and bright stars that populate this season’s night sky before looking through the eyepiece. Then, when you read that a sky treatContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: The Spring Sky"

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Michael’s Miscellany: Observing tips

Michael E. Bakich — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 14:20:25 +0000

There have been times through the years when I’ve gone observing and have been unprepared. Whether it was an action I should have taken, an item that I forgot, or some bit of observing wisdom that would have made my session better. Hopefully, the following list will better prepare you for when you next headContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Observing tips"

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Michael’s Miscellany: Universal Time

Michael E. Bakich — Fri, 30 May 2025 14:07:15 +0000

Because astronomers have divided the globe into 24 time zones, using one clock time worldwide is impractical. That’s why the times of astronomical events are often given in Universal Time (UT). This practice started in 1928, when the International Astronomical Union recommended that title for the time used in the compilation of astronomical almanacs. UTContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Universal Time"

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