Subject: Why freeze your azz off observing or imaging this Winter?
Why freeze your azz off observing or imaging this Winter?
January 21st, 2015 at 2:33 pm EDTHello Friend, As we reach the coldest days of winter here in Toronto and northern Canada, I always like to thing backto the time I last attended the Winter Star Party held in Summerland Key, Florida. Now it's been many years since I've been back, bu ...
Buddy, can you spare 300 million dollars?
January 20th, 2015 at 3:33 pm EDTHello Friend, During the dirty thirties the phrase often used by those who were unemployed and out of workwas "Buddy, can you spare a dime?". Here we are in 2015. Perhaps you have already heard of the Thirty metre telescope (TMT), Friend? And one of ...
Turn your smartphone or tablet into your own personal planetarium and observatory!
January 19th, 2015 at 3:10 pm EDTTurn your smartphone or tablet into your own personal planetarium and observatory! Get WiFi Access to the Universe with the Celestron SkyQ Link 2 WiFi Module . Simply plug it into your telescope's Hand Control or AUX port and connect to its wireless ...
The sad tale of the Beagle 2, and Professor Colin Pillinger
January 18th, 2015 at 1:14 pm EDTHello Friend, The late Professor Collin Pillinger, sat at his dinner table with all the usual fixings, on Christmas day, Dec 19th 2003awaiting confirmation of the landing of the Mars lander, the Beagle 2. Alas, that did not happen. The Beagle 2, was ...
Televue Demo Sale
January 16th, 2015 at 9:52 am EDTHello Friend, TeleVue products are the cream of the crop. The founder of TeleVue, Al Nagler decided many years ago that he didn't want his productsto be the same "me too" type of products everyone else made. While Al Nagler's son, David Nagler and hi ...
A true confession
January 14th, 2015 at 2:49 pm EDTHello Friend,As further evidence of the effect that Guinness Beer can have on you, I confess to making twoserious blunders in previous emails.Thanks to reader, Caroline Lane, who is doing her best to keep me on the straight and narrow,I will now be a ...
Prescription for Guinness?
January 13th, 2015 at 12:41 pm EDTHello Friend, Does anyone really give prescriptions for a pint of Guinness? Being here in Cork, Ireland in the middle of Winter, is not the most pleasant thing. The winds are blowing, it's snowing and raining, you get the picture. Especially if you'r ...
Visiting the stellar Graveyard
January 12th, 2015 at 12:19 pm EDTHello Friend, The stellar graveyard. Truly a fascinating study. And you can learn much more about it at the annual ASX symposium comingsoon. The Astronomy and space exploration group (ASX) from the University of Toronto, has anexciting roster of spea ...
Comet Lovejoy opportunity
January 10th, 2015 at 6:20 am EDTHello Friend, I've heard from a few folks, that they have been out in the freezing cold temperaturesgetting a view of Comet Lovejoy. It's visible now, and you can observe it with a pair of binoculars. Here is a finder chart to locate it if you want t ...
How to Protect your telescope in the winter
January 9th, 2015 at 6:46 am EDTHello Friend, Occassionally I get asked questions about how to use and protect one's telescope during the cold winter season. Some folks are afraid to use their instruments during the winter months in fear they may get damaged. Here are a few tips: F ...