I am relatively new to smartphones but I have already found 2 good astronomy apps that I like to use while observing: SkySafari (sky charts) and Astro Panel (weather). While SkySafari has a night (red) mode, the display seems a bit bright. Astro Panel doesn’t offer a night mode. Further, if you need to use the phone for calls, email or such, the screen is really bright. Enter the Staunton River Star Party and vendor AstroGizmos. I spoke with Jeff…
I thought I would give a short review of my new, mostly visual observing setup. If anybody has seen me out at Big Woods, I am pretty much only taking pictures. I had longed to do some visual observing for awhile. The reason being the only mount I have is the Orion Atlas which is always taking images. So, in celebration of getting one year older, I bought the Ioptron MiniTower altazimuth mount. I have used it a few times with…
(This article originally appeared in the Q4 2007 STAR Newsletter and was written by Dwight Rahl) iOptron Smartstar-E-R80 by Dwight Rahl When I was about 13, my parents got me my first telescope – a 6″ Criterion Dynascope. I had fun with it, but I was always frustrated by the amount of trouble I had in finding objects in the sky to observe. I found I was using it less and less often because of the trouble I had finding…
(This article originally appeared in the first quarter 2005 STAR Newsletter. -I) Buying the Coronado PST (Personal Solar Telescope) by Bill Webster The first time I looked through a telescope with a hydrogen-alpha filter on it I knew I wanted one. The view of the sun showing prominences and filaments was very captivating. The flares and active regions on the sun’s surface was something I had never seen before. The major problem for me was the price. The least expensive…
