psychohistorian.org
Category: Astronomy
How to observe the deep sky
"The pleasures of amateur astronomy are deeply personal. The feeling of being alone in the universe on a starlit night, cruising on wings of polished glass, flitting in seconds from a point millions of kilometers away to one millions of parsecs distant ... is euphoric."
James Mullaney
"Astronomy is a typical monastic activity: it provides food for meditation and strengthens spirituality."
Paul Couteau
2006 January 01
A comprehensive tutorial for the novice deep sky observer, this compilation consists of what skilled observers have written and said about their experiences. It discusses the basic and not-so-basic techniques of observing our Universe beyond the solar system. Whether you have binoculars or a telescope, this guide provides the background you'll need to start observing.
2006 February 02
Guidelines to help you to get the most out of your observing sessions by providing a checklist of things to look out for when you examine a deep sky object.
2006 January 01
Discover! the Southern Constellations
A free workbook ideal for learning all the constellations visible from the southern hemisphere, and for discovering the brighter deep sky objects on your own.
2009 January 08
The Deep Sky Explorer's Atlas consists of 30 wide-field star charts, from the south pole to declination +45°, showing all stars down to 8th magnitude and over 1 000 deep sky objects. Ideal for those who have mastered the more basic Discover! atlas.
2006 October 28
Top 100 southern deep sky objects
Hand-picked and collected together in a single list for the first time are the 100 best galaxies, star clusters and nebulae visible in the southern skies.
2009 October 26
Sutherland webcams and weather
2007 February 02
Southern African Dark Sky Guide
Where to go in Southern Africa to find a dark observing spot (or build your new observatory).
2007 January 12
Just off the tip of the short arm of Crux, the Southern Cross, lies the famous open star cluster nicknamed the Jewel Box. This quick "how to" shows you the way.
2006 March 02
Seeing What Isn't There: The joy of observing dark nebulae
Tim Cooper recently spotted an intruiging dark nebula.
February skies
- Find out about the Moon, stars, planets and constellations visible in the southern skies this month in Southern Sky News for 2010 February.
ASSA Symposium
- Eighth Biennial ASSA Symposium will be held in Pretoria on 2010 October 07/08.
Recommended
Science
Science
Scepticism
Skepticism
Stars to Midnight
- Visit Sutherland, the astronomical mecca of Africa, and enjoy a guided star show and deep sky tour, and see the "Stars To Midnight".
Everything on psychohistorian.org is © 2004-2009 by Auke Slotegraaf, unless stated otherwise or if you can prove you have divine permission to use it. Before using material published here, please consult the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.