Really Old Stars

Really Old Stars

I have the book Searching for the Oldest Stars: Ancient Relics from the Early Universe written by professional astronomer Anna Frebel checked out from the library, and wondered if it might be possible to view an ancient star with binoculars from my yard. To my...
My Binocular Double Star Manifesto

My Binocular Double Star Manifesto

Over the past several years my observing has centered around viewing double stars with binoculars, which is not a common practice among astronomy hobbyists. Telescopes are widely preferred for these objects. The classic image is an observer with a refractor resolving...
Cloudy Nights Shout Out

Cloudy Nights Shout Out

Astronomy is a solitary hobby to some extent. Observers often spend much of their time under the sky on their own, a peaceful and relaxing experience, an opportunity to set aside the hectic pace, frustrations, and challenges of daily life. Despite the pleasures of...
First Light

First Light

In astronomy “first light” means the first views one has with a new instrument. That is the first celestial light – the first stars one sees; the first starfields; the first deep sky objects. Here is the first light post for my new astronomy blog....