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Amateur Astronomer is “Chasing Galileo”
A collage of 21-day old Moons, sketched by Galileo, (left), an image from Jane Houston Jones' telescope, center, and Jane's sketch, right. A collage of 21-day old Moons, sketched by Galileo, (left), an...
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Amateur Spectroscopy
Credit: Robert Kaufman's image of Tarantula and Orion spectra (used with permission) Amateur astronomers are a unique species worthy of their own reality TV show. Their craftsmanship, resourcefulness,...
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New Hubble Images Zoom In on Asteroid Impact on Jupiter
These NASA Hubble Space Telescope snapshots reveal an impact scar on Jupiter fading from view over several months between July 2009 and November 2009. Credit: NASA, ESA, M. H. Wong (University of...
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Backyard Science: How You Can Make a Difference
Three people enjoy the summer sky over the Delaware river, NJ, USA in August 2006. Image Credit: Wikimedia.org It’s a great time to be an amateur astronomer! Nowadays, “backyard” astronomers armed...
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First Amateur Image of Another Solar System
Amateur astronomer Rolf Wahl Olsen from New Zealand shared an image with Universe Today, and it is perhaps the first image of another solar system taken by an amateur. The image above is Olsen’s image...
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New Comet Discovered by Amateur Astronomer
Image of Comet C/2012 C2 (Bruenjes) made from ten 60 sec. exposures on Feb. 11, 2012. (Fred Bruenjes) “Friday, February 10th 2012 just felt like the perfect night for a comet to be discovered by an...
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Thierry Legault: Astrophotography is an ‘Adrenaline Rush’
Thierry Legault with the customized equipment he uses for satellite images. Images courtesy of Thierry Legault. During one of the final space shuttle missions, photographer Thierry Legault traveled...
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Notes from an Amateur Telescope Maker’s Journal, Part 1
A home-made equatorial wedge used with an off-the-shelf telescope, just one of the ways you can improve your telescope experiences. Credit: Dale Jacobs Editor’s note: Interested in DIY telescopes?...
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Astronomer Giovanni Sostero, 1964-2012
Giovanni Sostero, 1964-2012. Image courtesy of the Remanzacco Observatory With sadness, we learned of the death of amateur astronomer Giovanni Sostero last Friday. Universe Today readers will remember...
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How Amateur Astronomers Can Help LADEE
An Artist’s concept of LADEE in orbit around the Moon. (Credit: NASA Ames). You can help NASA’s upcoming lunar mission. NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is slated to lift...
View ArticleAstronomy Cast Ep. 327: Telescope Making, Part 1: Toys and Kits
Why pick up a low quality, wobbly telescope from the department store when you can craft your own – just like Galileo, and all the great astronomers from history. For a minor investment, you can build...
View ArticleAstronomy Cast Ep. 328: Telescope Making, Part 2: Serious Gear
Some astronomers are control freaks. It’s not enough to buy a telescope, they want to craft every part of the experience with their own hands. If you’re ready, and willing to get your hands dirty (and...
View ArticleAn Amazing Capture of Jupiter and its Moons
It’s always a thrill to watch the action at Jupiter, as its moons pass in front of and behind the gas giant planet. We wrote recently about this month’s opposition of Jove on January 5th, marking the...
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Adventures in (Radio) Amateur Astronomy
The 4.6 meter “smiley” dish at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, soon to be available for student use via the internet. the dish was formerly used by the military, and the “face” was used to...
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Amazing Manual Trailing of Sirius and More Astrophotos from Pakistan
The colorful star Sirius in a 2-second exposure using a manual trailing technique. Credit and copyright: Roshaan Bukhari. Ever notice how the brilliant star Sirius appears to change colors right before...
View ArticleStunning Amateur Timelapse of Jupiter ‘Re-enacts’ Voyager Flyby
Back in the 1970′s when NASA launched the two Voyager spacecraft to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, I remember being mesmerized by a movie created from Voyager 1 images of the movement of the...
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Nobody Knows What These Mysterious Plumes are on Mars
In the Journal Nature, astronomers deliver an exhaustive study of limited albeit high quality ground-based observations of Mars and come up short. A Martian mystery remains. What caused the extremely...
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Watch Where You Point That ‘Scope: Police Mistake Telescope for a Gun
Levi Joraanstad, a student at North Dakota State University displays his telescope, which police mistook for a rifle. Image via WDAY TV, Fargo, North Dakota. One more thing amateur astronomers might...
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At ISO 400,000, This 6-Minute Film Shows Why We Love the Night Sky
Obviously, you’ve seen timelapse videos of the night sky because we share them here on Universe Today all the time. But you’ve probably not seen a video like this one before. This one isn’t a...
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91 Astronomers Combine 1000 Images Into One Amazing Journey to Jupiter
A renewed era of space exploration is underway. Compared to the Space Race of the 20th century, which was characterized by two superpowers locked in a game of “getting there first”, the new era is...
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