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Mercury Rising - Jul 19, 2007

For all of you astronomy folks who have never seen Mercury, this is the time of year to do it. Between July 18th and July 30th, Mercury will be visible early in the morning, between Orion and Gemini. The best viewing time is about 30 minutes before sunrise, so you may want to grab a light jacket before you head out. Set your alarm early, grab your telescope and star charts, and find youself a nice open view of the eastern skies. Your view may not be very exciting, but it is still a feat to claim that you've seen it since it is so close to the sun. Good telecope choices to view mercury include the Meade ETX 90 AT, or you can use a nice set of 10x50 binoculars.

posted by Ryan W @ 9:38 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Mysky with telescopes -

"I've heard that you can't use the Celestron Skyscout around metal objects. Is this true? Same for the Meade Mysky?" Yes, it is true for both the Meade My Sky and the Celestron Sky Scout. Both sky computers incorporate a magnetic sensor to help them locate north, which can be disrupted when in the vicinity of certain metal objects. However, this applies only to large metal objects such as vehicles and buildings and only objects made of iron. Doubt it will be an issue around the typical telescope, most of which are made of largely non-magnetic aluminum, anyway.

posted by Joanie K @ 7:44 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Mysky by day - Jul 18, 2007

"Can I use the Meade Mysky during the day? What will I see?" Yes, you can certainly use a sky computer, such as the Meade My sky or Celestron Skyscout to identify things you see in the sky by day, but that's the catch - you have to be able to see an object, first. Bright planets, such as Venus, can sometimes be spotted in daylight and now and then and you can often see bright stars just before the sun sets or just after the sun rises. If you can see an object, the MySky and the Skyscout will identify it for you, but keep in mind, these are really designed for night use. As for "seeing", remember, these are not telescopes. Their job is to identify an object you have already found.

posted by Joanie K @ 7:32 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Meade MySky computer - Jul 16, 2007

"Do I need a computer to use the Meade My Sky or the Celestron Sky Scout?" No, the computer in these sky computers, just as in a computerized telescope, is self-contained in the units. You don't need to attach them to a computer to use. Just turn the unit on, follow the instructions and point at the object in question. It's that simple.

posted by Joanie K @ 2:00 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

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