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The amateur astronomer will love this Newtonian telescope by Vixen.
Woodland Hills Telescopes carries astronomy products for kids as well. Young stargazers will love this guidebook to the night sky!
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The stargazer's Guide to Constellations!
Constellations have been viewed by mankind since the beginning of time. There are 88 known constellations. Ancient stargazers named many constellations after heroes, animals and gods and also mythological beings. Constellations are formed by a grouping of bright stars that connect together to form a picture or figure. Examples of constellations are Orion (a hunter) and Leo (a lion). The International Astronomical Union has exact boundaries for the 88 constellations so that every place or direction in the sky belongs to one constellation. Most star configurations that a stargazer will place together have no relation to each other, but can appear to grouped together in the celestial space in the night sky. The stars in the constellation when viewed from Earth appear to be close together to form a figure, but in actually they may be light years apart in space. There are dark cloud or also known as dark nebula constellations such as the Milky Way. The reason they are so dark is the light from the background is obscured and no stars can shine through the nebula, one example is the Horsehead Nebula located in the Orion Constellation. How can I view the constellations? Constellations can be discovered by using sky chart like Finder Charts of Messier objects. By using a sky chart the stargazer can familiarize themselves with the night sky and its celestial objects, like The Big Dipper, Leo, Orion and the Milky Way. For the high tech amateur stargazer, Starry Night software on the computer can help the stargazer star hop from one end of the night sky to another by using its star charts to locate objects quickly with detailed descriptions and photos. In addition to star charts and guides, the stargazer's viewing of the constellations would not be complete without a telescope. There are many different telescopes from telescopes with GoTo features to Dobsonian telescopes, which are easy use and transport. However the stargazer chooses to view the night sky whether through a telescope or binoculars, using star charts or the unaided eye, the stargazer is in for a wonderful night of star hopping and looking for hidden treasures in the night sky. |
