Astrodon Filters supplies precision imaging filters to astrophotographers worldwide. Here, founder Don Goldman explains a new product to a NEAF attendee. Michael E. Bakich Today is Saturday, the first day of the 2008 Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF). I’ve been looking forward to seeing the many manufacturers registered for this year’s NEAF. Here, at the largest annual astronomy expo, you can expect some surprises, and this year was no exception. The...

Today is Friday, the second day of the 2008 Northeast Astro Imaging Conference (NEAIC) at Rockland Community College , in Suffern, New York. Because the college’s classes are still in session, NEAIC annually asks one of the participants to lecture to one or two classes about an astronomical subject. This year, conference organizers asked Astronomy Contributing Editor Mike D. Reynolds to give one of the lectures. And what a great choice it was! In...

Today, I’m blogging from Suffern, New York, site of the 2008 Northeast Astro Imaging Conference (NEAIC). More than 100 of the world’s best astrophotographers have gathered here to renew old friendships, share techniques, and see the latest hardware. NEAIC is an outgrowth of the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF), which will begin on Saturday. I’m happy to be here because I’ve already run into several long-time image contributors to Astronomy I’d never...

One of the real celestial treats through any size telescope is the giant planet Jupiter. Even a 2-inch scope will let you view its main markings and four largest moons. By watching the moons change their positions night after night, you can experience “real-time” astronomy. That would be a good start. If, however, you want to go deeper into Jupiter observations, I recommend Jupiter and How to Observe It by John W. McAnally (Springer, 2008). Even before...

Today, I wrote a web-news story about a “new star” in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. In a bit of cross-promotion, I’d like to share the information as a blog. Late at night on Thursday, April 10, Japanese amateur astronomers Koichi Nishiyama and Fujio Kabashima discovered a possible nova in the Swan. Astronomers initially catalog such events as variable stars. This one received the label V2491 Cygni. Follow-up observations by other astronomers...

The greatest natural occurrence you can witness — bar none — is a total solar eclipse. If one of these spectacular events is in your future, you owe it to yourself to pick up Martin Mobberley’s new book, Total Solar Eclipses and How to Observe Them (Springer, 2007). Mobberley has packed this book with specific information on this topic. This book comprises two sections. Part 1, “Eclipse Mechanisms, Statistics and Tracks,” contains six chapters. Part...

On Sunday night, Astronomy teamed up with St. Louis radio station KMOX for the first in an ongoing monthly series of informal chats about the night sky, the space program, and other happenings in the universe. The program is “Reality Check,” and its host, Jon Grayson obviously loves astronomy. We had a wide-ranging discussion on a variety of topics. The first item we talked about was the recent space-shuttle mission and its results. Later, we reviewed...

In September 2001, I attended the Great Plains Star Party in Scopeville, Kansas. One night, as I was walking across the observing field, a friend called down from the top of his observing ladder. “Hey, Michael, I’ve run out of things to look at. Got any suggestions?” As I looked up, I realized he was using a brand-new 24-inch Starmaster Dobsonian-mounted reflector. He had the telescope, but he didn’t have a plan. Someday, you may find yourself in...

In previous blogs, I’ve written about my love for meteorites, including my trip to the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University. I also have a small but enjoyable meteorite collection. As an observational astronomer, I enjoy viewng meteor showers. A recently published book combines these interests and adds a lot more. Meteors and Meteorites: Origins and Observations by Martin Beech ( The Crowood Press , 2006) begins in space with Chapter...

Last month, I had the opportunity to visit the Center for Meteorite Studies (CMS) on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Arizona. Oh, my! I was there with Astronomy contributing editor Ray Shubinski who will be writing a story about the CMS for the magazine. Our host, CMS director Meenakshi Wadhwa gave us an in-depth tour of the Center’s facilities and collections. For two old-time meteorite hounds like Ray and myself, being in the “vault...