Tag: Stargazing

Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory smart telescope review

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The Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory is Celestron’s first smart telescope that brings the wonder of deep sky imaging into the palm of your hand. This makes it easier than ever to take your own photos of nebulas, galaxies and more with just a few seconds of setup. The telescope and built-in camera are controlled with an easy-to-use app that takes all the fuss out of locating and photographing distant celestial spectacles. Priced at $3,999 (£3,069 GBP), the Celestron Origin isn’t within everyone’s budget. This also isn’t a grab-and-go, do-everything…

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Satellites are making the night sky brighter — as a launch site, New Zealand has a duty to combat light pollution

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This article was originally published in The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. New Zealand’s space sector has been developing rapidly since the first rocket lifted off in 2017. It now contributes about NZ$1.7 billion in revenue, with plans to grow to $10 billion by 2030. Last year, New Zealand hosted seven rocket launches, all by the US-listed but local company Rocket Lab. It was in response to Rocket Lab’s initial proposal for a launch site that New Zealand developed a regulatory system from scratch in less than two years…

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Astrophotographer captures Comet 13P/Olbers and the Black Eye Galaxy M64 in stunning detail (photo)

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In a race against the clock, before the entire scene set below the horizon, astrophotographer Greg Meyer managed to capture this incredible image of Comet 13P/Olbers zipping through space alongside The Black Eye Galaxy (M64). “I had only 1 night to grab this shot, and only about 1 hour to do it. It was sinking fast below the horizon after sunset,” Meyer told Space.com in an email.  On Aug. 25, Meyer was running his telescope remotely, having placed it at the Starfront Observatory located near Brady, Texas, just six weeks…

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Save $120 on the Celestron SkyMaster 25×100 binoculars

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The Celestron SkyMaster 25×100 binoculars are now $120 off on Amazon and we rate them as the best for magnification in our guide to the best binoculars.  In our Celestron SkyMaster 25×100 binoculars review, we found that it has an excellent, high magnification which makes viewing the stars and beyond possible and that’s partnered with high-quality optics, giving you crisp, clear views. While these aren’t suitable for hand-held, casual viewing, they do come with a tripod adaptor, which is where these binoculars excel. We think there’s a lot to like…

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Nikon Trailblazer 8×25 ATB compact binoculars review

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Key specs Optics: BaK-4 roof-prism Magnification: 8x Waterproof/fog-proof: Yes/Yes Objective lens diameter: 25mm Angular field of view: 8.2 degrees Eye relief: 0.39-inch/10mm Weight: 9.9oz/281g The best pair of binoculars is the one you have with you — and the Nikon Trailblazer 8×25 ATB (called the Nikon Sportstar EX 8×25 in the U.K.) waterproof binoculars are so easy to take anywhere and everywhere. However, they lack the aperture to be used at night for much more than the moon.  With so many pairs of binoculars available across all shapes, sizes and…

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Perseid meteor shower rains ‘shooting stars’ over Stonehenge in glorious astrophotography image

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The Perseids, one of the year’s most prolific meteor showers, peaked this week, raining dozens of “shooting stars” per hour through Earth’s skies. Some lucky stargazers caught a double feature of meteors and dazzling auroras, which were triggered by a spree of powerful solar eruptions earlier in the week. Others, like U.K.-based astrophotographer Josh Dury, hunted for meteors at thematically appropriate locales — namely, the prehistoric astronomical monument Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. Stonehenge, built about 5,000 years ago to align with the sun on the summer solstice, is one of the most popular and intriguing…

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HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) laptop review

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If you’re looking for a machine to work with graphics or a convertible 2-in-1 to view media, the HP Spectre x360 14 has something for everyone.  Packaged with a digital stylus pen, it’s unchanged in its design compared to last year’s model— but that’s no bad thing. Its premium build quality and high-end feel underline a machine with plenty to offer. Geared to creatives, HP’s well-engineered device is fitted with the latest components—including a high-end Intel CPU and a whopping 32 GB RAM — and a stunning OLED display that…

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Watch a Perseid fireball light up the skies above Macedonia in this striking video

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Perseid Meteor catch on Camera Live – 13 August 2024 #perseids – YouTube Watch On In the early hours of Tuesday morning (Aug. 13), at around 1:03 a.m. local time, a dazzling Perseid fireball streaked across Macedonian skies above Lake Ohrid. A webcam system installed throughout the Lake Ohrid region captured the dramatic sight.  “The video with the meteor is incredible. We see in the video 7 seconds of a falling meteor. I love technology today,” photographer Stojan Stojanovski, who created the webcam system, told Space.com in an email.  Related:…

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Aurora alert: Geomagnetic storms from solar flares may supercharge northern lights across US, Canada

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The sun’s stormy weather is supercharging auroras on Earth this week, due to a series of intense geomagnetic storms triggered by recent solar flares.  On Monday (Aug. 12), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) detected a severe G4-class geomagnetic storm over Earth at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) that surely would have amplified northern lights displays across the United States if it had not occurred in the middle of the day.  “A severe geomagnetic storm includes the potential for aurora to be seen…

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New moon of August 2024: Venus in conjunction

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The new moon occurs Aug. 4, at 7:13 a.m. EDT (0113 UTC). In the days following the new moon, our satellite will make a close pass to Venus; after that Venus and Mercury will be close together, making a visible pair in the evening sky.  A new moon describes the moment when the sun and moon share the same celestial longitude; this is called a conjunction. This happens about every 29.5 days. As the illuminated side of the moon faces away from Earth, new moons are invisible to ground-based observers…

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