The NexStar Evolution and SkyPortal Users Guide

The NexStar Evolution is a type of telescope made by Celetstron and the SkyPortal is a Wi-Fi control that allows the user to align and operate the telescope mount from a tablet or smart phone.

The book begins by looking back at the early digital telescope controllers including the Vixen Sky Sensor and the LX200 hand controller. Chapter 2 presents us with a look at all the latest Celestron computerised mounts that can be purchased today. Here we are shown nice full colour images of the telescopes and mounts as well as looking at their features, advantages and disadvantages. It covers all prices points from the more entry level Celestron 102SLT right up to the CGEM and CGE Pro mounts.

The book then mentions which telescopes can make use of the SkyPortal software as well as how to set it up, install it and use the features of the software. You will find step by step instructions here on how to complete tasks as well as detailed images and notes on all the menu options.

Chapter 5 leaves the software behind and we move onto just looking at the Celestron Nexstar+ hand controller which accompanies every Celestron Evolution telescope. This chapter again goes into great detail about how to align your mount, search for objects and use the in-built utilities menu using the hand control.

The major flaw in this chapter is that lots and lots of pages are given over to images of the hand controller at certain stages throughout a process. But the actual hand control screen in the image is too small to actually read. What they should have done was just image/photograph the actual screen part on the hand controller. We don’t need to see the actual buttons on the hand controller in every image – they serve no purpose.

Chapter 6 is about lessons the author has learnt whilst using the Nexstar Evolution and SkyPortal. This is a really good original chapter and you can learn a lot from this chapter. It gives tips on using the hardware in cold weather, how to cope with the Wi-Fi environment as well as a bit about troubleshooting.

Patrick Moore’s Observers Year 366 Nights of the Universe

Patrick Moore’s Observers Year: 366 Nights of the Universe by Mike Inglis, 3rd Edition published by Springer

The original text of Patrick Moore’s Observers Year: 366 Nights of the Universe was written by Patrick Moore, and the majority of the text has not been touched but the data has been updated. This version of the book contains data from 2015 to 2020.

There is a page for every day of the year in this book. Each month begins with a look at the sky with the initial pages detailing the constellations in the sky, then there is a list of what to look at throughout that month.

Each day of the month gets its own page. You may just find written text for a particular day or a constellation diagram with a list of objects to view in that constellation. On a particular day you may also get a small box detailing Future Points of Interest – something that will happen on that day in the future, like the ‘Earth at Aphelion’ or the Opposition of Pluto’ in a particular year on that day. The number of pages per day is not massive; you may find that there is just one page or less per day. That means it’s not an arduous read, you could just read a page a day.

Imaging and Image Processing with a High Frame Rate Camera

Mick and I talked at the Cambridge Astronomical Association about Webcam Imaging or really nowadays High Frame Rate Camera Imaging on Wednesday 21st June 2017.

The talk covers a brief history of webcams and high frame rate cameras, it then covers setting up your camera and using camera filters as well as looking at Field of View (FOV).

We look at using camera software for capturing the images, including  Sharpcap and Fire Capture. We also looked at Registax 6 and Autostakkert for processing and the usual Photoshop and Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE) for making lunar mosaics.

Included in the PDF are some of Mick’s best solar, lunar and planetary images.

Dowlonad the PDF version of the talk here – Imaging and Image Processing with a High Frame Rate Camera

Atlas of Great Comets Book Review

Atlas of Great Comets by Ronald Stoyan, published by Cambridge University Press

The Atlas of Great Comets is a hardcover book by Ronald Stoyan. It’s hard to imagine what a comet book will contain, whether it’s lots of images and details of where the comet is now and when it may be back. But this book is a lot more than that, it goes right back in history and includes early drawings of what people saw in the sky at the time, you could call this a history book.

The book begins with an introduction to comets including cometary beliefs and fears, how the comets were seen in art, literature and poetry. There is a section at the beginning of the book detailing the most successful comet discoverers who have at least 10 comet discoveries. At the top of this list is Robert McNaught with 82 followed in second place by Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker with 32. After the introduction to comets section the main section of the book then takes you through all the main comets from 1471 in the Middle Ages right up to Comet McNaught in 2007.

In total there are 30 comets in the book, with 11 of these appearing in the 20th Century. It’s amazing how many times Comet Halley appears throughout the book. Comet Halley appeared in 1531, 1607, 1682, 1759, 1835, 1910 and 1986.

The Atlas of Great Comets contains a great many images of the various comets in both black and white and colour. Each comet also contains a table with information like the discovery date, the discoverer, date of closest earth approach, perihelion date, maximum magnitude etc. There is also a constellation diagram for each comet showing where it was in the sky at various dates in time. If there aren’t any images of the comet then you are presented with some wonderful historical drawings.

When it comes to the writing, each comet has a section describing the comets orbit and visibility which goes hand in hand with the constellation diagram. There is also a section entitled “Discovery and observations”, this tells you how the comet was discovered and what happened to it whilst it was on its journey past the Earth. Finally there is a section entitled “Background and public reaction”.

First Light and Beyond Astronomy Book Review

First Light and Beyond by D A Jenkins – Making a success of astronomical observing.

‘First Light and Beyond’ is for the visual observers, it covers all aspects of how to get you equipped and prepared for the observing night ahead. A large section of the book is then given to the constellations and where to find the main astronomical objects to view.

The beginning of ‘First Light and Beyond’ starts off by covering all the basics of the night sky including the motion of the sky, how to measure distance, which constellations appear in certain seasons etc. There is more information on such things as how to find the object you are looking for whether it’s via an App or a planisphere. The beginning of the book also covers magnification and the use of various eyepieces. It then goes onto discuss collimation, cleaning your telescope and polar alignment of your mount.

The next chapter covers where it’s best to observe from, as well as about universal time. It tells you when is the best time to view the planets and meteor showers as well as about observing conditions.

Chapter 3 is about your equipment, this chapter covers binoculars, finderscopes, star charts, eyepieces, dew prevention, filters, GOTO telescopes as well as many other things. It actually has a section about useful household items you don’t want to forget about using such as carrying cases, observing chairs, notebook, spare batteries, extra clothing and using mosquito repellent.

This chapter ends with a section on completing observing report forms and how to star hop. Then the next 100 pages are dedicated to constellation maps and images of the night sky and how to see them. This section is split up into 2 sections, one for star clusters and nebulae and the other for galaxies. Each of these sections provides you with many star maps, some images of the object in question as well as written useful information about the objects.

Chapter 6 tells you to treat yourself to dark skies. This chapter introduces you to the international dark sky association and asks why observe under dark skies? Mainly because the next section is given over to a number of objects that are suited to being viewed under dark skies. This chapter ends with some useful information on travelling to dark sky locations and what to expect and of course what to take by the way of packing tips.

Now originally I said ‘First Light and Beyond’ was only for observers, well there actually is a small chapter on getting into astrophotography, when I say little it is only about 12 pages. It covers simple point and shoot cameras, and DSLR cameras. It mentions imaging through the eyepiece, piggyback mounting your camera onto your mount and camera tracking mounts. There is also a brief introduction to a few astronomy software programs like FITS Liberator and ImagesPlus.

The last few chapters cover topics such as astronomy magazines, astronomy books, astronomy websites and about public outreach programs and how you may want to start your own astronomy club etc.

Overall thoughts

Overall I quite liked ‘First Light and Beyond’ because it wasn’t just about star maps and where to find objects in the night sky but it also contained extra information such as travelling to dark skies and about the equipment you need for visual observing and how to plan an observing session.

I would say this was aimed at the beginner to intermediate astronomer. It contains a good number of images, some colour some black and white. I think this is the kind of book that you would read cover to cover as each section is well written and does not go into massive amounts of detail it just gives you the right level of information and allows you to go off and find out more if you are interested in that area of astronomy.

Where can I buy the First Light and Beyond book?

You can buy First Light and Beyond from Amazon UK