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The tools like Vixen POLARIE, iOptron SKYTRACKER and the ASTROTRAC all have their use and fans. And they are capable to move a small camera setup and effectively eliminate startrails. They are small and comparatively easy to use but are quite expensive

There are many different ways to enjoy the beauty of the night sky and in this series of articles I want to share some of my experiences. From simple visual observation to increasingly challenging astro-photography setups.

Supernovae are among the most powerful events in our universe and they emit unimaginable amounts of energy. And long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away that has happened but it took 11.5 million years and only now does this energy reach us, some of

GOOD PREPARATIONS are in my opinion some of the best ingredients to any successful venture, astrophotography & otherwise. If I have to tell you WHY you want to look at the stars, you've comet to the wrong place to find an answer to the ultimate

PLANNING is in my opinion one of the best ingredients to any successful venture, astrophotography & otherwise. And in another article, I wrote about the WHERE / LOCATION. The right timing of WHEN also is important If I have to explain to you WHY

For this article, I use the eclipse on April 15th 2014 as an example and as a location I have picked San Francisco. The path of the moon & the timing is dependent on your own location and you will have to make adjustments for that. Here are some

Here is the "dream" solution" a high-capacity Li-Ion battery with regulated & protected 9V output capable of delivering 5A and a connector to match the Nikon body (that package would need to include a small AC-adapter to recharge the battery)

A standardized image format is something most users take for granted -- JPG, GIF, PNG and even TIFF are household names when it comes to (web)-images & editing. If you use a dSLR, you have gotten used to adding a tool or two, to process the Nikon or

Today's GOTO telescopes are a great help to novice stargazers and a timesaver to more seasoned astronomers. Pushing a couple of buttons and you can command the telescope to move from one star to the next nebula. Yet that hand-controller interface isn't

In the previous blog entry, I talked about the GOTO capabilities and the usefulness of computers to provide sky maps and provide easier accessible telescope controls. All those solutions are "blind" and here I will explain how to setup a combination of

Observing stars becomes easier if you don't have to constantly make adjustments. This is even more important, if you want to make long-exposure photos of the sky. The solution is simple & elegant -- the Earth rotates around it's axis and if you

As you browse through telescope selections, you inevitably come across all kinds of telescopes and may wonder why I never mention these. Here I'll talk about the differences between VISUAL OBSERVATION and ASTRO- PHOTOGRAPHY. Visual observation is just as

Congratulations and you are going to be excited unpacking and trying it out ==> my suggestion is to READ THIS BEFORE you go and pickup the mount. And maybe also keep a few key notes on what to watch out for. Reading this will help -- READING THE

The Moon not only is a stepping stone for humankind's exploration of the universe. The Moon also is a good stepping stone for your astrophotography and often the first distant target people shoot.

If you are planning to capture images of deep sky objects, it is likely, you have a laptop and camera(s) at your disposal. So why not use them to help & accelerate the polar alignment.

From the ground up : Important / distinguishing features of the Atlas EQ-6 ProTripod12V powerMechanicsattaching & adjusting the mount during polar alignmentabout the mountALT & AZ adjustmentsPolar Scope & alignmentBalancing &

Of all the astronomical phenomena, a TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE surely has to be the scariest of all to ancient people. What horrible powers must be at work when they can take away our sunlight. Of course today's explanation of standing in the moon's shadow is

NASA's images of the sun show so much more detail & texture -- and they can see those not only because they have million dollar equipment and put it into space. These details also are visible to mere mortals -- once you focus onto very narrow bands of

I'm going to update this to reflect changes as this project progresses. Naturally there always are multiple options and I will suggest alternatives