Gary Seronik.com

The daylight social centre of our star party is the swimming pool. At night, the reclining lounge chairs accommodate binocular observers. (Nikon FE, Fuji Sensia 200 slide film.)

The 7th annual Costa Rica Southern Star Party ran from January 16th through 23rd this year. We usually have excellent observing conditions and clear skies, but this year was exceptional. Virtually every dark hour was free of clouds and rich with celestial rewards.

Without question, the best way to learn how to make a telescope mirror is to have an experienced mirror maker at your side as you push glass. Each year there are scores of mirror-making workshops held all over the world. In this month's Telescope Workshop column, I highlight one such event: the Mid-Atlantic Mirror Making Seminar, hosted by the Delmarva Stargazers. If you attend one of these gatherings, there's a good chance you'll come away with a finished mirror, but that's just one of the benefits — the lasting friendships and sense of camaraderie you'll develop are just as rewarding.

In Binocular Highlights, we have a look at a pair of circumpolar Messier galaxies. M81 & M82 are the most northerly objects in Messier's catalogue, and they're also among that list's finest galaxies. What's remarkable about this pairing his how much of each object's character comes through even in binoculars.

To find out what else is in the March issue, visit S&T’s web site, www.SkyandTelescope.com.

Happy reading — and as always, your comments, questions, and suggestions are welcomed.
Gary

Look to the Left! An e-mail I received yesterday made me realize that it's not obvious to everyone that most of this site's content doesn't sit here on the home page. I limit the number of articles here to those recently added and to a few that seem to be most popular. Everything else is eventually moved to its home in the Topics menu at left. So if you haven't explored there recently, have a look!

Gary

Having recently concluded the International Year of Astronomy, an event that celebrated the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s momentous telescopic observations, it’s perhaps appropriate to look back at another, more recent moment in history — the arrival of the Dobsonian telescope. As I note in this month's Telescope Workshop column, it was 30 years ago that most amateur astronomers first heard of John Dobson’s telescope design. For most ATMs, this is a more significant anniversary.

In Binocular Highlights, we take a tour of Lepus, the Hare. With all the beautiful sights in Orion just to the north, it's no wonder that Lepus gets so little attention. Yet the constellation is home to one of the few winter binocular globulars and a couple of interesting double stars.

To find out what else is in the February issue, visit S&T’s web site, www.SkyandTelescope.com.

Happy reading — and as always, your comments, questions, and suggestions are welcomed.
Gary

Even though a “Blue Moon” doesn’t really look like this, it does attract a lot of attention.

The term "Blue Moon" is usually used to describe the second full Moon in a month, but this is a pretty recent development. What’s more, its rooted in a mistake.

Binocular Highlights out of stock at Amazon.com. It appears that Amazon's stock of my book has run dry. If you'd like to get a copy of Binocular Highlights, I have a small supply available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Just send me an e-mail for details if you're interested.

Gary

The scope’s ground board is cut from ½-inch plywood.

The last major piece of my telescope-rebuild puzzle is the rocker box’s ground board. This component performs a simple, yet crucial function.

You can have an enjoyable observing session any time the Moon is in the sky, but for the absolute best telescopic images, it pays to know which lunar phases offers the greatest potential for high-resolution views. My On The Moon column this issue is called "Moon Time" and it describes how to choose your optimal lunar moment.

For those of you unfamiliar with SkyNews, read on . . .

A quick note to Cloudy Nights Forum readers. For those of you who have been following my Telescope Diary series, I've been asked to stop posting update notices on the CN forums. So, from now on, just check in here regularly to see what's new. And as always, don't hesitate to write if you have questions or comments.

Stay tuned . . .
Gary

Solving the thermal management puzzle can be as simple as adding a fan to cool your telescope's primary mirror.

In Part 1 I described the cause and consequences of telescope thermals, now let’s see what can be done to cure, or minimize the problem.

The secondary mirror holder and spider on my 12¾-inch truss-tube Dobsonian is made with scrap wood, a few nuts and bolts, and a stainless-steel ruler.

The curved-vane secondary mirror holders I use on almost all my telescopes never fails to excite curiosity. Most people know that the principal benefit of the curved spider is spike-free stars, but they often wonder if it really works. The “points” adorning bright stars in telescopes with straight-vaned spiders are diffraction artifacts that don’t seriously affect the image but do impose an aesthetic quality that may not appeal to you. Luckily, the remedy is easy to make, works like a charm, and can be retrofitted to virtually any reflector — commercial or homemade.

This simple, easy-to-build mount provides the perfect introduction to long-exposure astrophotography.

Round stars. That’s the difference between astrophotos captured with a camera that tracks the sky’s motion versus one that doesn’t. Traditionally you’d make a tracked photo by placing your camera piggyback on a telescope with a motorized equatorial mount. But that’s a lot of equipment to deal with if all you want are some nice-looking constellation portraits or a shot of a newly discovered comet — especially if you have to travel to reach your favorite dark-sky destination.

On top of ol’ Smokey. A mix of cloud and smoke from forest fires made for spectacular sunsets, but hazy night time viewing at this year's MKSP.

I made my 25th consecutive trip to the Mt. Kobau Star Party last August. Although there wasn’t much stargazing to be had this year, I still had a great time. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Waiting for twilight's end at the Table Mountain Star Party.

As an editor for Sky & Telescope magazine, I’ve traveled to most major (and quite a few minor) star parties in North America. They’re fun events and tend to have a number of things in common. Here’s a rundown of my top ten star party perks.

You can enjoy viewing the Moon with nothing more than a modest telescope equipped with a few eyepieces. Even binoculars can show a great deal. But to get the most out of your lunar explorations a few additional tools are a big help. Here are my picks of the best and most essential Moon goodies.

Recently I did a segment for the show SUPERnova, which is produced by the talented team of Tyler Gamsby and Shannon Hartley for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Vancouver Centre. The results are viewable above.

This is episode #4. Be sure to check out the other shows too. All are very nicely done and have unusually high production values. SUPERnova is part of the Vancouver Centre's International Year of Astronomy outreach program.

Enjoy!

Gary

Have scope, will travel! This Dobsonian not only gives great views, it also fits into an airplane’s overhead storage compartment.

One of the best reasons for learning to build telescopes is that you can make instruments that perfectly match a particular observing need or circumstance. As an editor at Sky & Telescope, my “circumstance” happily involved a lot of travel, and as a result I found myself dreaming of a telescope that I could take with me as I zig-zagged across North America from one star party to the next. It seemed a shame to arrive under the dark skies of the Texas Star Party or Mount Kobau without a telescope of my own.

Every stargazer has a “first telescope” story. Here's mine.

Like many backyard astronomers, one question I get asked all the time is “When did you get interested in the stars?” The truth is, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawn to the night sky. Maybe part of the reason was that my family lived on an orchard under a splendid, dark rural sky. For me, the stars were as much a part of nature as the birds in the trees and the bugs crawling on the ground.

Combining optical excellence with rock-steady views, Canon's image-stabilized binoculars are a stargazer's dream come true. But is one best for you?

For a long time, 7×50 or 10×50 binoculars were considered the best choice for stargazing. Such binos are relatively lightweight, inexpensive, and capable of delivering fine wide-field views of the heavens. But most people find that hand-held 10×50s represents the upper limit of the weight and magnification comfort zone. Models featuring higher magnification or more aperture require a tripod or dedicated binocular mount for steady views. Even 10×50s rarely work near their potential without support. Unfortunately, such devices ensure that an instrument much loved for its portability and convenience becomes encumbered with as much paraphernalia as a small telescope. Enter the image-stabilized binocular.

A bewildering assortment of binoculars awaits at your local camera store. But when it comes to stargazing, some binos are better than others.

Binoculars come in a dazzling variety of magnifications and sizes. Many stargazers recommend 10x50s — binoculars that magnify 10x and have 50-millimeter-diameter objective lenses. A trip to your local camera store will likely show you a bewildering array of additional choices. You'll see 15x70s, 8x40s, 7x35s, and so on. But how do we decide which combination of magnification and aperture is best for stargazing?