As distances in space are well, astronomical, we can’t use measurements that we use here on Earth, such miles or kilometers. The Sun is 93 million miles away from the Earth, so that particular measure isn’t going to get us far. Also because space is three-dimensional, two-dimensional measurements aren’t really suitable. This is why we use angular measure, with degrees of angles.
We tend to think of the brightness or apparent magnitude of stars and their location in the sky to be the most important thing to know about them. But there is much more to them, and if you make yourself aware of their characteristics, it will certainly enhance your enjoyment of stargazing.
The Meade Deep Sky Imager™ PRO is a monochrome CCD astro-imager, with high-performing simple-to-use monochrome CCD camera, which allows amateur astronomers to image and process spectacular photographs of deep-sky objects such as star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. The camera is most suited to the intermediate to advanced amateur. The Deep Sky Imager PRO comes with an RGB filter set that produce amazing RGB and LRGB images.
If you have been in the country far from any human-made light source you will know that the night sky is a wondrous, luminous marvel, the sky ablaze with light. Bright stars and planets are caught in a glowing net of dimmer stars and nebulae.
Variable and double stars can be very difficult to see even with a good telescope – large observatory telescopes and the Hubble Telescope in Earth’s orbit, tend to be better at distinguishing between stars at extreme proximity compared with their distance from us.
So you’ve bought your telescope or binoculars and you know how it works. You’ve done a bit reading on the subject of astronomy. It’s time to get out and do a bit of observing! But where to start? You have read about all those planets and stars out there, but how do know which are visible tonight? Although you may read about the subject it’s hard to get an understanding of the night sky without actually looking at it. And the problem is it’s changing all the time, with each passing hour and day. The sky at 8pm tomorrow will look slightly different from the same time tonight. Most star charts are no more than monthly, which can make it difficult for the astronomer starting out.
When buying a telescope the first thing you need to do is to work out what type and size of telescope you’re going to buy. Always try telescopes before you buy, and don’t let sales staff push you into a poor or overly expensive sale. Check with your local astronomy club, which can give invaluable advice about what to buy according to your circumstances. You need to give them information about where you live, what you want to observe, and your budget. You should join the club, participate in stargazing sessions, and try to be actively involved in the setup of telescopes. If you can’t find a club, a local planetarium may be able to assist. A club can also advise on reputable dealers. Always buy from specialist telescope dealers, never from department stores or online. A reputable dealer will always ask questions about how much expertise you have and your astronomical interests.