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In the last blog post available here we covered how astronomers gradually used new discoveries in photographic techniques to not just record what could be seen at the telescope’s eyepiece but to capture even fainter details than humans could perceive. Like new technologies tend to do, once photography became commonly available advances in materials and…

What do the ZWO AM5, the iOptron HEM27 telescope mounts and the wheels of the Apollo Lunar Rover have in common? They’re all driven by a Harmonic Drive. There’s been a lot of excitement about the recent announcement of affordable telescope mounts using Harmonic Drives.  These mounts offer some features that make them of great…

Humans have produced star maps, charts, drawings and other records of the unchanging night sky above us going back to ancient times. However,  even the most talented artists were limited to what could be seen with their eyes. Early pioneers of using the telescope for astronomy quickly discovered they needed to record and share their…

Saturn takes 29 years to orbit the Sun. The view we see of it rings changes during this time for the same reason we have seasons. Like the Earth, Saturn is on a tilt.  Image of Saturn’s changing rings by Kevin Parker When you take your telescope out to view Saturn this winter, you might…

Image of the super massive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way released by a global research team EHT Collaboration 12th May 2022.  Our home galaxy, The Milky Way, has long thought to contain a super massive black hole. This is something observed not just in the Milky Way, but in many other…

How many stars can you count? Have you ever been under a completely dark night sky, on a night with no Moon light?  There’s nothing quite like that carpet of stars that stretches from horizon to horizon with the cloudy Milky Way running through the middle. But just how many stars can you see at…

Q: Can I view what I see through my telescope on a tablet or PC screen? A: Yes. There’s a number of ways to do this. Let’s explain how. This is one of the most asked questions we encounter! The process of attaching a digital camera to a telescope instead of an eyepiece and then…

For International Women’s Day 2022 we’re celebrating the journeys and skills of a wide range of Astronomers Mary Toki I stumbled across Trevor Jones (Astro backyard) deep space pictures a few years back. I was completely mesmerised by his images and could not believe this was taken by somebody from their backyard! I thought I’d…

Microscopes: Discovering the hidden world In much the same way telescopes helped us expand our knowledge of the universe by letting us see things that are beyond our view due to their vast distances, the close relative of the telescope – the microscope – has had even more impact on our lives by revealing the…

Did you know that you can use your current DSLR for taking spectacular astrophotos without the need to buy a telescope? And what’s more, we’re coming into the perfect time of the year to do just that! Image by Cory Keating – Nikon D5100 and Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer mount Even basic DSLR cameras and lenses…