Go Out: Look Up!
A Guide to the Sky, Telescopes, and Telescope Programs
Go Out: Look Up!A Guide to the Sky, Telescopes, and Telescope Programs
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LinksWhat’s Cool Tonight?Whole sky map of tonight’s sky with interesting targets at SkyMaps.com (scroll down to the Current Month to download a map) Sky &
Telescope’s This
Week’s Sky at a Glance (overview of highlights) Astronomy Magazine’s The Sky this Month and The Sky this Week Tonight’s
Sky (useful and thorough, but text-based.
Requires some knowledge) Heaven’s
Above: good information, include a whole
sky chart for tonight Space
Station Sighting Times: pick your city and it tells you when the next
visible overflights are and where to look (click here
for San
Diego) Spaceweather.com:
up-to-date info on transient information like sunspots (do NOT look at the sun),
asteroids and aurora. What's the weather going to be like?Here are observing forecasts for the San Diego region:
General AstronomyAstronomy.com; Some great links: · observing under our bright Urban Skies; Orion Telescope’s Astronomy Learning Center Solar Observing, Live Hydrogen-alpha shots of the Sun: http://halpha.nso.edu/ Jessica's Jackpot - a wealth of cool links Free Planetarium
Software: Stellarium
Free Planetarium Software There are some very cool apps for iphone, also. Local Observing and ResourcesWoodland Hills Cameras and Telescope's Daniel Mounsey: reviews and Oak Canyon Astronomy Group. San Diego Astronomy Association SDAA hosts public star parties every month. Members bring telescope equipment for the public to look through. Just show up. SDAA Calendar. **NOTE: All public viewing sessions are weather dependant and can be cancelled without notice. “Stars at Mission Trails”The SDAA holds a monthly Star Party at Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) on the second Friday of every month at the Kumeyaay Lake Campground on the Santee side of MTRP. We set up at dusk in the day-use parking lot, which is just to the right after you enter the campground. Directions to MTRP may be found on the MTRP website. Tierra Del Sol – SDAA’s “Dark Site”Regular
public observing sessions--"star parties"--are held at our ten-acre
site in the east county, and the Club's 22-inch telescope, along with other club
telescopes, are available for everyone to use. Members experienced in their use
and in the night sky host the club telescopes, and
the hosts are always willing to take on the throngs of curious public, school
groups, and other civic organizations that visit our site. **NOTE: All public
viewing sessions are weather dependant and can be cancelled without notice. See
the forecast for the event here. For
more info and directions visit, http://www.sdaa “Stars in the Park” in Balboa Park –
near the Ruben H. Fleet Space Theatre
At dusk on the first Wednesday of each month, following the monthly "Sky Tonight" planetarium show in the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater, members of the SDAA set up telescopes west of the Fleet on The Prado, for free public sky viewing Astronomy in Oceanside: Mira Costa College has an astronomy program with public observing sessions.
Library Telescope Program New Hampshire Astronomical Society Library Telescope Program EquipmentScope buying guide (Orion's, Meade's, independent expert Ed Ting's recommendations). My two cents: I agree with Ed: a six to eight-inch dobsonian is a great first scope. If you're in an urban or bright suburban area, the Orion dobsonians can be bought with a Computer Object Locator which is easy to use and allows you to find targets that would be very difficult without a computer. How-to Guides How to use Orion's Computer Object Locator (video) How to Read a Star Chart or Planisphere AstroDevices' Nexus: it allows you to hook up your computerized telescope (or any scope with encoders) to your iPad or iPhone (or android). It has revolutionized how I observe!
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Questions or comments? Email:Jeff Martin |
