What's In The Sky - November 2020

Clear November night skies offer incredible celestial sights recommended by Orion Telescopes and Binoculars for stargazers to be thankful for, so bundle up and get outside for stargazing fun!

Double Cluster in Perseus
Use a pair of big binoculars or a shorter focal length telescope with a wide-field eyepiece in November to seek out the sparkling Double Cluster in Perseus - two side-by-side open star clusters NGC 884 and NGC 869. 

NGC 884 and NGC 869 - The Double Cluster in Perseus imaged by Claudio Tenreiro on Insight Observatory's 16" f/3.7 astrograph reflector (ATEO-1).

Mars & The Moon

On November 25th, the Moon passes close by Mars, making them a great observing target! The pair will be separated by approximately 5.5 degrees, which is unfortunately too far apart to be viewed simultaneously at high magnification, but both could be observed together with wide-angle astronomy binoculars.

New Moon
November 14th will be the best time of the month to observe the fainter deep-sky objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

Leonids Meteor Shower
Bundle up and get outside after midnight on November 17th to see the peak of the Leonids meteor shower as "shooting stars" appear to radiate outwards from the constellation Leo. Meteor showers are usually best viewed without optical equipment, but for a closer look try out some Ultra Wide Angle Binoculars. The shower peak is very close to the New Moon, which should present little light pollution. The estimated peak rate is approximately 14 meteors per hour.

 

M45 - The Pleiades located in the constellation Taurus imaged by Plymouth South Middle School students Taylor A. and Kyleigh O. using ATEO-1 via Insight Observatory's online Educational Image Request (EIR) application.

The Pleiades
November is sometimes called "the month of the Pleiades," since the star cluster is visible all night long for observers in the Northern hemisphere. From a dark sky site, M45 is easy to see with the unaided eye and resembles a small "teaspoon" pattern in the sky. Use astronomy binoculars for immersive views of this open star cluster, or use a telescope with a lower-power eyepiece for a closer look at the Seven Sisters.

All objects described above can easily be seen with the suggested equipment from a dark sky site, a viewing location some distance away from city lights where light pollution and when bright moonlight does not overpower the stars.

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What's In The Sky - July 2020

Get ready for summer stargazing! With the weather warming up, July is a great time of year to enjoy relaxing evenings under starry skies with your telescope or astronomy binoculars. Here are a few of Orion Telescopes and Binoculars picks for July stargazing...

Gas Giants at Opposition

Jupiter and Saturn both reach opposition one week apart this year, making July the perfect opportunity for planetary viewing! Opposition is when the Earth passes directly between a planet and the Sun. This coincides with the planets closest approach to Earth, providing an excellent opportunity for great views in a telescope. Both planets are easy to find in the Southern sky, about 7 degrees apart from each other. Jupiter reaches opposition on July 14th and Saturn about a week later on the 20th. During opposition, Saturn’s rings will be inclined at 21 degrees towards Earth, close to their maximum angle of 27 degrees. Combined with the planet's close approach to Earth, this makes July an excellent time to observe Saturn and its rings!

Jupiter imaged on 12/07/2012 with an Orion 180mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope Optical Tube. Imaged by Cherdphong V. from Bangkok, Thailand.

Grab a high magnification eyepiece or a Barlow lens, and check out the gas giants during opposition!

New Moon

July 20th is the darkest night of the month and therefore the best time to observe the more faint objects like galaxies and star clusters. Grab your observing gear and enjoy!

Hercules almost directly overhead and Scorpius

With constellation Hercules almost directly overhead and Scorpius to the south, there's plenty to see in July skies as summer continues. Check out globular star clusters M13 and M92 in Hercules, and explore Scorpius to find numerous deep-sky objects including open clusters M6 and M7, and globular clusters M4 and M80.

The Summer Milky Way

From a dark sky location in mid-July, the glorious Summer Milky Way shines as a band of light that stretches from the southern horizon to nearly overhead. As the night progresses, the Milky Way will arch across the entire sky. From a dark observing site, scan the Milky Way with 50mm or larger binoculars or a wide-angle telescope to explore some of the hundreds of open star clusters, emission nebulae and planetary nebulae that lurk among the star clouds.

Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope Kit.

July Challenge Object — Hercules Galaxy Cluster

About half a billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Hercules, not far from the star Beta Hercules in the southwest corner of the "keystone" asterism, lies the "Hercules Galaxy Cluster." This association is a group of 200-300 distant galaxies, the brightest of which is NGC 6050 at about 10th magnitude and can be seen with an 8" reflector like the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian under very dark skies with good seeing conditions. A larger aperture, 14"-16" telescope like the Orion SkyQuest XX14g GoTo Truss Dobsonian will begin to show about a half-dozen or more galaxies in one field-of-view. How many can you see in your telescope?

Orion SkyQuest XX14g GoTo Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope.

All objects described above can easily be seen with the suggested equipment from a dark sky site, a viewing location some distance away from city lights where light pollution and when bright moonlight does not overpower the stars.

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Buy A Real Telescope!

There are two kinds of people: those who own an astronomical telescope - and those who want to own one!

If you're of the 2nd variety, you may not own a telescope on the grounds, that, "they're, just too expensive!" Well, some telescopes ARE too expensive! - like those, situated beneath state-of-the-art observatory domes on the summits of Mauna Kea, and Mauna Loa, in the Hawaiian Islands. Now, THAT'S too expensive; for most of us, anyway.

Believe it or not - there are telescopes on the market, that actually approach the optical quality, and sizes, of some of those gems of the tropics. And, there are some that DON'T! And, it's the ones that don't - that are the, truly, expensive items! I will stay clear of those kinds of "powerful", "600X"-type "mockeries", except to give a brief overview and tell you where they can most likely be found.

Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Reflector Telescope Kit.

Certain kinds of telescopes, or, maybe more accurately, items that LOOK like real telescopes, that are marketed using high, but, ambiguous numbers - are likely to have the overall construction, as well as, overall usefulness, of a high-priced "toy". Although there are some rare exceptions, any type of optical instrument sold by department stores, or other chain store outlets, is likely to consist, mostly, of hype - and disappointment. Don't buy one. I could write a short book on my reasons for telling you that (maybe I will!) - but, not here.

There. That's that! Now, let's look at real, astronomical optical instruments that are available for the non-rich, amateur astronomer, or anyone else who wishes to acquire a well-made optical instrument, for other purposes, as well (I understand that "other" purposes exist - but, I'm not familiar with any of them!)

Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope Kit.

This will be short, and sweet, mainly because I only know of one telescope manufacturer which meets all, of what, I consider, the most important criteria: quality, price, available accessories, reputation, and general knowledge of telescopes - based on my experience and familiarity them: Orion Telescopes and Binoculars of Cupertino, California.

Because of the necessity of variety, and of combinations of variety - much of it aimed at the more advanced, "intermediate" amateur astronomer - Orion carries many types of telescopes, and telescope 'packages', which, I cannot possibly give decent coverage to here, so, before I briefly go over a few of their more 'general-purpose' telescopes, I'll just mention that, they also carry instruments for the advanced amateur, as well as, professional astronomer.

I will note here - NEVER buy a telescope, based on advertisements of "power". I think that statement should be embossed on every telescope's packaging, just above, "DO NOT USE TO LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN". Any telescope, in theory, can provide high, even very high magnifications. That's not what you're interested in. Advertising a telescope by "power"-"magnification", is a marketing device. It's done, only because it can be, and it sounds so good. But, magnification is the least of your concerns; aperture - is a major concern. The cost is a close second.

Orion SkyQuest XX12g GoTo Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope.

There are a few, basic types of scopes: Refractors, Reflectors, and Cassegrainian, "folded" optics types. All of these come in a variety of aperture sizes. Refractors, typically, are in the smaller ranges, mainly because they are more expensive to make. Reflectors, come in small, medium, and large. Folded optics types, come in medium and large. My recommendation, for a beginner, is to purchase a reflector telescope of at least a 4-4.5-inch aperture, but that's because I'm partial to reflectors, and there, generally, larger apertures.

Here are three scopes from Orion, that I recommend for someone who has never before purchased a telescope, and/or, is a beginning-intermediate amateur astronomer. Prices are, as of their latest catalog.

• StarBlast 4.5 Astro Reflector Telescope Kit: This is a 4.5-inch tabletop model, swivel-base, Dobsonian mounting, and is supplied with two eyepieces (for change of magnification) - 17mm and 6mm (26x and 75x, respectively). 0-power finder-scope. This model features an alt-azimuth dual-axis system for manual repositioning. Best suited for the beginner. Good for observing the moon, planets, and brighter deep-space objects.


• Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope Kit: An 8-inch "floor" model-style, Dobsonian mounting. Comes with 2x Barlow lens (doubling mag. of the eyepieces): 35mm and 25mm (34x, 48x, 68x, and 96x w/Barlow) and 0-power finder-scope. This model features an alt-azimuth dual-axis system for manual repositioning. Best suited for, beginner-intermediate. Good for observing the moon, planets, and dimmer deep-space objects.


• Orion SkyQuest XX12g GoTo Truss Tube Dobsonian: This telescope is my personal "dream-scope". 12-inch aperture, computerized "GoTo" drive mechanism. Laser-based finder-scope. This model features the GoTo computer-automated drive. Stepper-motors, on both axes, and a hand-held computer controller, allow automatic repositioning of the telescope, based on controller input (keyed or voice). Includes 28mm and 12.5mm eyepieces and 2x Barlow (54x, 108x, 120x, and 240x). Best suited for intermediate-advanced amateurs. Good for observing the moon, planets, and harder-to-reach deep-space objects, such as distant galaxies.

I could continue down the list, as, there are other models in all of the classes I've mentioned, with varying degrees of accessory inclusion. All of the models mentioned here will be very good for observing a variety of celestial objects. Orion carries an entire line of accessories, from extra eyepieces, and solar filters, to planetary and deep-space digital CCD cameras and adapters. Your best bet, though, is to view their current, full catalog online, at telescope.com.

Unfortunately, they no longer provide a real, paper catalog! But, according to their associate, Rick, they will likely be back (as soon as people realize that, paper, is actually, a much faster, more intuitive browse than a screen!)

Dale Alan Bryant
Senior Contributing Science Writer

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