To me, 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, from meteors to bolides to aurorae or maybe even a comet. It’s all there just waiting for you to get outside and look up. On these pages I hope to provide you some tools and information for you to get started in the wonderful hobby of amateur astronomy. I have some links to videos on my YouTube Channel all about astronomy. Or you can explore on your own by going here:
Let’s take a look at some astronomy gear I own and some recommendations for you to consider.
Obsession 15″ (381mm) UC Reflector (pictured to the left).
Celestron 11″ (280mm) SCT on a Losmandy mount in my observatory
Skywatcher 12″ (305mm) Reflector
A 10″ (250mm) Orion Reflector
Orion 150mm Maksutov-Cassegrain
Meade LX90 8″ (203mm) Schmidt-Cassegrain — in CA.
These refractors:
Orion EON 90mm Triplet
Orion EON 115mm Triplet
Stellarvue 102mm Doublet
If you are thinking about buying a telescope, I recommend you become proficient in the following:
Know the phases of the moon
Know how to find the planets. Know the brightest stars and constellations.
Have been out with your naked eye and with binoculars.
Understand how the sky works Understand the limitations due to light pollution,
Then 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, learn about the types of telescopes and determine what your budget is, 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
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. Also check out the blog page for a list of targets to observe each month.
Object of the month:
M3: a beautiful globular cluster. To locate it go from Arcturus toward the star Cor Caroli which is the brightest star in Canes Venatici about 2/3 of the way.
APRIL 2026:
April 1: Full Moon
April 5-8, 2026: Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) disintegrated at perihelion.
April 13: Neptune will be .3° from Mars before sunrise!
April 13-20: International Dark Sky Week
April 17: New Moon
April 17: 5:00 am look for Comet C/2025 R3 (Panstarrs), Magnitude 8 low on the horizon in Pegasus
April 17: Mercury at Greatest Elongation and brightest. Look Low on the horizon just before sunrise
April 19: Saturn will be 1.2° below Mars before sunrise
April 20: Mercury will be .5 degrees from Saturn before sunrise
April 21: Mercury will be 1.7° below Mars early in the morning before sunrise
April 21-22, 2026: Lyrid Meteor Shower. 10 pm until sunrise. Look in the direction of Lyra the Harp or look for bright Vega
April 23: Look for Uranus .8 ° lower left of Venus just after sunset
April 24: First Quarter Moon
Jupiter will be in Gemini all month
MAY 2026:
May 5: Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower (Active from April 19 to May 28) Peaks May 5-6 2026 but the Moon will be 84% full and blow most meteors out of view.
May 20: In the evening sky M35 in Gemini will be .8 degrees lower left of Venus
JUNE 2026:
June 14: Earliest sunrise
June 15: Mercury will be 25 degrees east of the sun and visible to the naked eye just after sunset
June 17, 2026:
The Moon will occult Venus during the day
June 19: M44, the Beehive Cluster will be .7° below Venus
June 21: Summer Solstice
June 24: Latest end of evening twilight for mid northern latitudes (40° N)
June 27: Latest Sunset
August 2026:
August 12: Total Solar Eclipse across greenland, Iceland, Spain, & Strait of Gibraltar
August 15: Venus at greatest eastern elongation
September 2026
September 14: Try to see Venus during the day!
September 22: Autumnal Equinox
October 2026:
October 6: The Moon will occult Jupiter
November 2026:
November 25: Uranus will be at opposition
December 2026:
December 4: Earliest end of evening twilight
December 7: Earliest Sunset
December 13-14: Peak of the Geminid Meteor Shower (moon will be 21% illuminated)
December 21: Winter Solstice
UPCOMING STAR PARTIES:
Mid-South Star Gaze
French Camp, MS
April 15-18, 2026
Two things that most beginners fail to adequately consider when getting into the hobby of amateur astronomy or when considering purchasing a telescope, are (1) the devastating effects of light pollution on our hobby and how it limits what you can see in the night sky and (2) how difficult it is to move around a large heavy telescope. Before purchasing a telescope I recommend you at least learn the brightest stars and major constellations as this will help you to find things in the night sky more easily. Try using a simple pair of binoculars to locate objects before buying a telescope to get an idea of how to locate objects and what they might look like. 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 be seen even 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 to the sky and shows you what you are looking at. The problem with using these apps is that they can only show you a small portion of the sky at any given time. So, I recommend an all sky chart. such as Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas or just a simple planisphere. Once you learn the brightest stars and major constellations then you are ready to try out binoculars and then a telescope. Here is a helpful course I made to get you started: