Journey into the night sky with Tsula, where stargazing meets discovery. Explore the cosmos and deepen your connection with the universe above.
There is nothing quite like going out on a clear moonless night and looking up in the sky at all those stars. It’s something that draws me back out into the dark night, time and time again. Whether tirelessly tracking down a faint incomprehensibly distant object in the telescope or just admiring a big beautiful star cluster or even just lying on my back and admiring the Milky Way, I never tire of any of it. You never know what you might see when you go outside and enjoy the night sky.
Let’s take a look at some astronomy gear I own and some recommendations for you to consider.
Currently, I own a Celestron 9.25″ Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope. This is a type of telescope that is very compact and uses mirrors and lenses. I use it on a German Equatorial Mount made by a California company called Losmandy. German Equatorial Mounts require counterweights to balance the mount and the telescope’s axis must be aligned to the north or south celestial pole depending on where you live. Here in the northern hemisphere that means lining up the telescope’s axis to Polaris the north star which is close to but not exactly the northe celestial pole.
I also own a 10″ Orion Skyquest Dobsonian that is a manual mount. Dobsonian telescopes are Newtonian Reflectors that are mounted on a daisy wheel base that moves left and right and up and down or what is called altitude and azimuth. Unless you buy a “goto” or electronic Dobsonian you must move the telescope around manually and locate all the objects you want to see yourself.
I own an Orion 150mm Maksutov-Cassegrain on a single fork arm electronic goto mount. This is an awesome telescope that sadly is no longer manufactured. Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes are known for producing very sharp images.
When I am in the Bay Area (I live part of the year in a rural setting in Montana) I use a Meade LX90 8″ Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope and mount that is electronic and can locate objects in the night sky after a simple alignment on two stars. It is very light weight and portable. I can pick it up very easily and put it together to take to dark sky sites. You must put a dew shield at the end of Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes to keep the corrector plate from getting dew on it and ruining your night of observing. This telescope is also sadly discontinued after a fantastic long run as a very popular telescope. Meade is currently for sale at an auction. What a shame.
I also have an electronic Equatorial Mount made by iOptron that is very compact and lightweight but can only handle up to 20 pounds of equipment. I used to use this mount for a telescope that was destroyed in a car accident but can also handle a small refractor.
I also own a few refractors of various sizes:
Stellarvue 90mm apochromatic
Orion EON 115mm Triplet
Skywatcher 150mm Doublet
Stellarvue 102mm Doublet
If you are thinking about buying a telescope, first ask yourself some questions. Do you know the phases of the moon, can you identify the planets and know where to find them, do you know the brightest stars and constellations? If you can answer those questions and you have gone out with your naked eye and maybe with binoculars and understand how the sky works and you understand the limitations on what you will see in the night sky if you intend to observe in a light polluted area, then you might be ready for a telescope. To understand what type of telescope would work best for you, for your observing location, and for the types of objects you intend to observe, then learn about the types of telescopes and determine what your budget is. Next decide how much weight you can lift now and when you get old and find out the weight of various telescopes. To learn more about these topics you can watch my video “Advice on Buying a Telescope” https://youtu.be/Elip2tleGzY
You will learn about the differences between the three main types of telescopes to give you a better idea of which one best suits you and your budget and where you intend to observe the night sky. If you are a beginner then the number one recommended telescope for you would be an 8″ or 203mm Dobsonian Telescope. It’s a lot of aperture for a reasonable price. I am standing next to a Dobsonian Telescope in the photo next to this post. They are long and bulky but they are very easy to set up and use and are the most aperture you can get for the lowest price of any type of telescope available to amateur astronomers.
Find out what’s happening in the night sky each month with my Astronomy Calendar of astronomical events and also a list of upcoming star parties.
December 2024 is almost over but we still have one more astronomical event:
December 25, 2024: Mercury will reach greatest western elongation of 22 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning hours. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky before sunrise
January 2025:
January 3: Quadrantid Meteor Shower Peaks
January 4: Earth at Perihelion
January 9: Venus at greatest elongation
January 12: Mars closest to earth
January 13: Full Moon; Mars occulted by Moon
January 15: Mars at Opposition
January 17: Venus 2° above Saturn
January 29: New Moon
UPCOMING STAR PARTIES:
January 27-February 2, 2025
Scout Key, FL
April 5-6. 2025
Northeast Astronomy Forum
Suffern, NY
April 20-27, 2024
Texas Star Party
Fort Davis, TX
June 19-22, 2025
Cherry Springs Star Party
Cherry Springs State Park, PA
June 21-28, 2025
Grand Canyon Star Party
Grand Canyon, AZ
July (TBD) Oregon Star Party
August 22-26, 2025
Almost Heaven Star Party
Spruce Knob, WV
September 25-28, 2025
Great Lakes Star Gaze
Gladwin, MI
Get started with the right tools and tips, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned observer. From telescopes to binoculars, Tsula has you covered for every stargazing need.
Two things that most beginners fail to adequately consider when getting into the hobby of amateur astronomy or when considering purchasing a telescope, are the devastating effects of light pollution on our hobby and how it limits what you can see in the night sky and how difficult it is to move around a large heavy telescope. Before purchasing a telescope I recommend that beginners first go out and learn the brightest stars, learn how the sky moves, and learn the major constellations as this will allow you to find things in the night sky more easily and appreciate the night sky more. Once you master those three things then you should try out using a simple pair of binoculars to locate objects. Then after using binoculars and your naked eye for a while and getting the hang of locating objects you might consider purchasing a telescope.
When you head out each night be sure to let your eyes get used to the dark or what we called dark adapted. Wait at least 15 minutes before you can expect your pupils to dilate enough to allow you to see things in the night sky.
If you have a telescope that you keep inside the house or garage, you must allow it about 30 minutes to reach thermal equilibrium with the night air temperature. If you don’t then the stars will appear fuzzy.
When you start out just start by looking around with your naked eye for something familiar. Most of the year you should be able to make out the Big Dipper if you face north and from there the Big Dipper will point you to other constellations. If it is winter time (in the northern hemisphere) you should be able to make out the bright constellation Orion the Hunter, which can even be seen from light polluted cities. Orion will then point you to other constellations in the winter sky.
Start out using a Planisphere or simple star chart or you can download a free app onto your smart phone called Stellarium that you hold up tot he sky and shows you what you are looking at. The problem with using these apps is that they will ruin your dark adaptation unless you put the phone in night mode and also they can only show you a small portion of the sky at any given time. So, I recommend an all sky chart. Once you learn the brightest stars and major constellations then you are ready to try out binoculars and after that then you might consider a telescope. But do your homework first.