Super small CCDs?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141219160620.htm

Ron Pugh pics from the Lava Hiking Trail

Looking ahead - 2017 Solar Eclipse

http://www.eclipse2017.org/xavier_redirect.htm

Possible New Meter shower May 24th

New Meter shower May 24th?

The Sun's Sibling

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140510151703.htm

What equipment would you recommend to someone who is interested in getting started in amateur astronomy?

This question was posed at the last Idaho Falls Astronomical Society meeting (April 15th, 2014) and here were the responses by some of the club members:

J.R.C.  - A small reflector is probably the cheapest way to go.

J.F.R.  - A good pair of binoculars (10 x 50 mm) and tripod to learn you way around the sky + sky atlas or computer program or app.

Eric L. - A 6" or 8" reflector telescope with a dobsonsian (Alt/Az) mount. Red dot finder. 25mm and 10mm eyepieces.

W.H.R. - 6" Dob.

Dave S. - Probably a small (105mm), easily mobile, Schmidt-Cassegrain or MAK.

Ron. P - It helps to have a friend with a scope and some knowledge, as a mentor, to answer questions and give advice. A member of the Idaho Falls Astronomical Society would be a great start. Start easy and learn the constellations, names, and placement in the sky. Then start learning the names of the brightest stars. This is a goal that you can attain. It helps you to know your way around the sky. Subscribe to Sky and Telescope or Astronomy Magazine and start learning some of the things going on in the sky and beyond. A lot of info may be over your head but you will be amazed at what you can absorb over time. Wait for awhile before buying a telescope until you know what you want it to do for you. Small, cheap scopes will not satisfy you curiosity for very long and could be a wast of your money. A nice pair of binoculars will work very nicely for you as you astronomical knowledge grows. The neat thing about astronomy is, no matter how much you know, there is always more out there to learn. There's enough going on to keep you occupied for a lifetime.

Bruno - Recommend attendance at a series of star parties to first see the variety of interests which are satisfied with different scopes. Then start with a fairly simple and readily portable scope to encourage its frequent use - a 90 to 105mm MAK or 8" Newtonian with low to medium power eye pieces.

Wescott F. - If you are getting started and not sure if you'll like astronomy, attend our meetings and star parties (for more info go to www.ifastro.org). If you really want to get into astronomy get as big of telescope as you can that meets your budget (a reflector is preferred for deep sky objects and will keep you hunting for years to come) and physical abilities. If you don't mind a bulky scope with around a $500 price tag get a 10" Dobsonian (this kind of telescope is also called a Newtonian) Join a nearby Astronomical Society and they will help you learn how to use your equipment. The Astronomical Society and a good star chart book will help you learn the skies. Reading lots of astronomy books, attending our meetings, attending astronomy college classes and youtube videos about astronomy will help further you education, too. Don't buy telescopes from the mall or grocery stores. Those won't get you very far (and maybe nowhere at all). Searching online for a telescope seems better. Start with telescope.com or use google to find what you want. If you don't know what you want, attend star parties first and then make a purchase or build your own - DIY style!

Video about the upcoming set of 4 Lunar Eclipses

http://www.space.com/25250-a-tetrad-of-lunar-eclipses-starts-in-april-video.html

The next eclipse begins April 15th.

Jupiter, Mars, Moon

Got a good look at Jupiter, Mars and the Moon before bedtime with the 10" Dob. Nice detail seen on 1st quarter moon in regards to little craters with what seems to be some "ripples" near by. Mars looked like a nice round, red ball. Not much detail could be seen. Bands clear on Jupiter, but only noticed three of the moons. High level clouds passing over and lots of light pollution in the city. Tried to find M108 and M97 and gave up.

Cathedral of Stars (in stunning 4k)

Great views of the southern sky.

Got a look at the stars tonight, started about 8:30.  Sort of ran my own Messier Marathon.  I was able to pick off M-35, 42, 43, and 40 before the clouds became impossible.  Wasted some time on M1, but was never able to see it.  Great views of Jupiter and Mars.  I was using my 4.5 inch reflector.  I have the scope in almost perfect collimation.  I'm using the so-called Barlowed collimation method and would be glad to explain it if you aren't familiar with the technique.  I also recently purchased 18 and 5 mm Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces which I have found to be a really good match with the 4.5 reflector.  In these eyepieces stars are shap points across pretty much the entire field of view.  There is only very, very slight coma near the edge of the field of view.

Hi res look through the Big Dipper

The Big Dipper Like You’ve Never Seen It Before

Pretty cool picture.  You can pan around and see all of the deep sky gems.

Filippenko Researches M82 Supernova

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140227092448.htm

Waning Gibbous Moon In The Early Morning Mist

Cell phone picture taken of waning gibbous moon at 8:00 AM February 18, 2014. Photo by Eric Laing

It was just a moment, only visible through the clouds as I was driving into work.  There was a soft layer of mist and delicate colors that dressed up the moon in the morning light.

Stephen Hawking New Theory

Here's a few links that seem somewhat informative about the new theory:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/hawking-meant-black-holes/

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129543.000-stephen-hawkings-new-theory-offers-black-hole-escape.html#.UwQ-vfldVNQ

http://www.nature.com/news/stephen-hawking-there-are-no-black-holes-1.14583

Messier Marathon Planner

I will be using a Messier Marathon planner I found at: http://members.shaw.ca/rlmcnish/darksky/messierplanner.htm Although it is 18 pages long, it has a photo of each object along with a full set of data. Jim

AR1967 and AR1968 Sunspots

Got a great glimpse at AR1967 and AR1968 sunspots before a cloud covered them. Now I'm just waiting for the cloud to go away for another glimpse. I'm using a 90mm ETX with a Baader film solar filter latched on the nose of the scope and a 40mm 1/4" eyepiece. I'm using no additional filters at the moment, but I do have this green (540nm) filter to put on the eyepiece that supposed to give more contrast that I'll try when the sun comes back....oh wait there it is...I'm back out there.

M82, Jupiter and Orion Nebula

I got a glimpse of the Supernova in M82 before the clouds moved in. It was hazy in that part of the sky and hard to see the galaxy, but easy to see the bright dot in the middle of the fuzziness. Jupiter's moon Europa was sneaky and not showing when I first looked into the scope. Then about an hour or so later it crept out from behind Jupiter and showed itself. The Orion nebula looked bright as its stars casts shadows on the clouds of dust and gas. Too many clouds out right now to view much else.

Sunspot AR 1967 (formerly AR 1944)

Got a quick look before next front rolled in.  Neighbor's tree was a challenge also.  The complex does not seem as spectacular as the first time it went across the Sun.  In case you are interested, I'm using a Celestron First Scope with an Orion white light filter that renders the Sun in an orange/yellow color and an Orion Explorer II 17 mm eyepiece.  I set the scope on the kitchen table and look through the patio door.

Supernovas

In case you haven't heard there is another supernova in M99.  It is about magnitude 15 today.  I've been looking at the supernova in M82 using my 5 inch reflector.  The big sunspot cluster (formerly AR 1944) is now appearing again on the Sun.  I'm going to take a look as soon as I post this.

Jupiter and Moons, Jan 25th 2014

Jupiter was bright and glorious viewed the evening of Jan 24, 2014. With my 10 inch dob the cloud bands on Jupiter were clearly visible sometime showing some details within the bands. From right of Jupiter as Europa (outer) and Ganymede (inner). From Left of Jupiter was Io (inner) and way out, at times out of the eyepiece (1/4 inch zoomed to15mm) was Callisto. Seeing was average, but Jupiter and it's cloud bands were easy to see until the secondary start icing a bit which seemed to produce a halo and washed out the planet a bit.

Observations on Jan 25 2014

View M82 at 9:19pm MST with 10 inch dob using a 24mm to 8mm zoom 1/4 inch eyepiece (I viewed this object with 18mm). I see a bright dot right of the center of the galaxy (almost midway between the center and the edge) which happens to be  SN2014J Type Ia Supernova. Seeing conditions seemed average and light pollution didn't prevent it's viewing. Viewed from my back deck in Idaho Falls.