Archives for the 'amateur astronomy' Category
The North Texas Skywatch Star Party
Published on 10 Nov 2007 at 12:45 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under amateur astronomy, observing.
For those of you who live anywhere in the North Texas area, mark you calendars for Saturday, November 17, 2007. That is the date of the 11th Annual North Texas Skywatch Star Party. The event will be held at Lake Mineral Wells State Park, near Mineral Wells Texas (west of Fort Worth). […]
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Pocket Stars
Published on 7 Oct 2007 at 12:46 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under amateur astronomy.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the freeware program Stellarium for computers. It comes in multiple forms available to multiple platforms. You can load the program onto a notebook computer and take it with you into the field. But, sometimes, a notebook computer is a bit much to carry. […]
Stellarium
Published on 24 Sep 2007 at 7:05 pm.
15 Comments.
Filed under amateur astronomy.
Last week, I had a couple of posts where I posted a sky view created using computer software. When I was first learning astronomy, this tool was not available. We had star charts, for sure, but you had to do all the work yourself looking at star charts to try to imagine what […]
Seeing in the Dark
Published on 17 Sep 2007 at 2:18 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under amateur astronomy, books.
Long before I decided to be a physics and astronomy professor, long before I decided to study astronomy, I was fascinated by the sky. When I was in junior high school, my Dad subscribed to Astronomy magazine (which was fairly new at the time). In college, I studied and read about astronomy […]
Seeing and Transparency
Published on 9 Sep 2007 at 2:11 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under amateur astronomy, atmosphere.
When you want to have some idea how to dress to go to a ball game or a picnic, or even to walk around outdoors, you turn to the radio or television and listen to the weather forecast. If you want more detail, then there are web sites, such as the National Weather Service […]
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My new Sky and Telescope is old
Published on 6 Sep 2007 at 7:31 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under amateur astronomy, books.
I got my new Sky and Telescope magazine in the mail today. When I opened the packaging, my first thought was, “Wow. What did they do to it?” Then, I had a feeling of deja vu. You see, the October 2007 Sky and Telescope that I was holding in my hand […]
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Alien Eyes
Published on 22 Aug 2007 at 7:23 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under amateur astronomy.
Yesterday I had an eye exam. My eyes require a bit different exam than most people every two to three years. This involves, among other things, extra strong eye drops that dilate my pupils. I can’t drive afterwards, so my girlfriend drove me to the appointment. But, she couldn’t hardly look […]
