Brian Ventrudo

Solar System Observing – Zodiacal Light; Lunar Mountains

This month it’s time to examine the zodiacal light, a white, wedge-shaped spear of light thrusting up above the horizon along the zodiac. The light is visible in very dark sky all year, but September and March are the best times of year to see this glow, which is caused by reflection of sunlight from tiny dust particles in the plane of the solar sy...

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Stargazing Tools – Eyepieces (Part 2); Dew Control

Filed Under: Fundamentals of Stargazing

This month, you get another look at the types of eyepieces on the market with a review of two specialized types of oculars: zoom and long-relief. You also get a no-nonsense look at telescope resolution, one of the most misunderstood specifications of a telescope. And, if you live in an even moderately humid climate, you will appreciate this month’s...

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Science of Stargazing – Emission, Reflection, and Dark Nebulae

Filed Under: Fundamentals of Stargazing

On the menu this month we have three of the most commonly observed objects in the night sky: reflection nebulae, emission nebulae, and dark nebulae. The first two types of object are clouds of gas and dust set aglow by new stars formed within or nearby, whereas dark nebulae are opaque clouds of gas and dust that blot out the background stars along...

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Deep Sky Tours – August

Filed Under: Fundamentals of Stargazing

The Swan Nebula, M17, in Sagittarius.
The Milky Way is the highlight of the night sky this month. In fact, it is the largest single celestial object in the heavens, stretching all the way around the sky as a thin, white, mottled band of unresolved stars. This month you tour the finest deep-sky objects along the plane of the Milky Way including star...

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Sky Tours (South) – August

Filed Under: Fundamentals of Stargazing

Winter continues south of the equator, but the sting of cooler weather is offset by the thick band of the Milky Way nearly overhead at mid-southern latitudes. This month you examine the constellations along the Milky Way from Cygnus, just above the northern horizon to the constellation Sagittarius almost directly overhead in the early evening hours...

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