Sat - October 28, 2006

A new member of the family is on the way- The Coronado PST (Personal Solar Telescope)

As I wrote in another entry, planet Mercury will be transiting the Sun on November 8 viewed from here in the eastern USA. I do have a solar filter for my Celestron 8i, and I used that combination during the Venus Transit in June 2004. I've long wanted to be able to observe the sun more routinely, but setting up that whole rig can be tedious, particularly because that configuration will only display sunspots. If there are no sunspots, I get a nice picture of a featureless ball for my efforts.


Coronado has made their name with very high-grade hydrogen-alpha filters for solar viewing. Pictures in hydrogen-alpha reveal the beautiful texture of the Sun's surface, as well as sunspots, solar prominences, granules, filaments, and more. Until a few years ago, it was far too expensive for most people to own a hydrogen-alpha filter or telescope, but no more. For $499, at this writing, I'm getting a scope that will give me views like those you see here, weighs about 3 pounds, and fits on top of a standard camera tripod. Oh sure, I could still spend $20,000 and get the latest and greatest Coronado scopes, but... well actually, I couldn't. At this price, I am thrilled. I plan to leave the scope set up on my tripod, check this current picture of the Sun in hydrogen-alpha light once a day, and be able to be out and observing in under two minutes. [end]

  (solar image © Greg Piepol, www.sungazer.net, used with permission)

Posted at 12:24 PM     Read More     |

Fri - October 6, 2006

Mon - September 4, 2006

UPDATED: Nice to have: Celestron's Sky Scout handheld star finder & "personal planetarium"

As my friends can attest, for years I have wanted to design and market a consumer device that would combine a laptop, astronomy software, and virtual reality glasses you can see through (like a heads-up display) with which to teach astronomy. Imagine, for instance, looking up, pressing a button, and having the outlines of all the constellations superimposed on your view of the sky? Of course, hobbyists like myself would also have a complete blast.

Anyway, Celestron is releasing something like that in April 2006, called the SkyScout, for only $399.

UPDATE 8/24/06: Sky & Telescope magazine's mini review is here.

UPDATE 8/30/06: Another review, this time from the Associated Press, is here. Also, I've learned another very cool use for the SkyScout™: it can find bright objects like Venus or Jupiter during daylight hours! Few people have seen these during the day, though they are frequently visible if you know exactly where to look, especially through binoculars. Sadly, eyes are not good at picking up a tiny speck of light against a vast field of blue. I think if I had one, I'd probably attach my StarFinder green laser pointer to it, so people with me could follow what I'm seeing.

UPDATE 9/4/05: The AP SkyScout review is now on the web. Looks like this is going to be a popular device!

Posted at 02:55 PM     Read More     |

Sat - February 18, 2006

Tue - April 20, 2004

Tue - March 23, 2004

StarFinder™ 532nm Green Laser Pointer & Mount from ScopeStuff.com

Whether on a scope or just pointing out stars in the sky, this is one sexy piece of equipment

Posted at 06:22 PM     Read More     |

Mon - March 22, 2004

Wed - March 17, 2004

Ray's Brackets

Adding a 2" diagonal and eyepiece caused a few problems: balance, and the new diagonal didn't clear the scope base. Here's the solution.

Posted at 06:25 PM     Read More     |

Tue - March 16, 2004

Celestron f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Corrector

An accessory to gather more light and halve the magnification of my eyepieces.

Posted at 06:24 PM     Read More     |

Celestron 8" Solar filter

I want to see the Sun sometimes, sooo...

Posted at 06:21 PM     Read More     |

Orion Anti-Vibration Pads.

I thought these would be a waste of money. I was wrong

Posted at 12:34 AM     Read More     |

Sun - March 14, 2004

Fri - February 27, 2004

Rigel Systems Skylight LED flashlight.

To replace my other night-vision flashlight. This one is glove-friendly!

This flashlight cost the same as the first one I took back. Not only can I easily use it with my winter gloves on, but it glows either red or white/blue depending on which way the large knob is turned. And it's nice and bright. I needn't have worried about accidentally ruining anyone's night vision; the knob is on one side of the flashlight body, and hard to turn in the wrong direction by mistake. Highly recommended. [end]

Posted at 12:37 AM     Read More     |

Tue - February 17, 2004

Orion red LED flashlight

This will enable me to see my books, read my eyepieces, and adjust the scope in the dark. At least, that was the plan

Posted at 12:35 AM     Read More     |