#amateur-astronomy — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #amateur-astronomy, aggregated by home.social.
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The Sky Observer's Guide, a nice booklet with lovely illustrations published in 1959, was one my very first amateur astronomy books. I read the Italian edition in the 1970s and, although I long lost access to it, now I can browse the book and feel the old excitement again.
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The clouds called dibs on the sky tonight, 4/15... Our observatory will be socked in, so the stars are taking a well-deserved night off! No worries — the universe will still be there next week. Come find us at our next WAS Weekly Wednesday Star Party!
was-ct.org
#Astronomy #StarParty #Westport #Connecticut #Stargazing #WAS #NightSky #CloudedOut #AmateurAstronomy #WestportObservatory
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🌥️ Star Party Update – March 4th
The Westport Observatory is socked in with clouds again tonight, so we're calling off this week's WAS Weekly Wednesday Star Party. Mother Nature had other plans!
We hope the skies cooperate next week — clear skies and great views are worth the wait.
See you next Wednesday! https://was-ct.org/#WestportObservatory #WAS #StarParty #Astronomy #CloudedOut #ClearSkies #Stargazing #AmateurAstronomy #WestportCT #WeeklyStarParty
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Marty! Set the DeLorean for 1986! I just bought a Meade LX3 mount and re-forked my Meade 2080 LX3 OTA onto it. This rig was the hottest thing back in '86! I even have the hand controller, Dec motor and polar alignment scope / finder. I even have a Telrad mounted on this beauty! Looking forward to getting some clear skies... maybe... someday?
#Astronomy #AmateurAstronomy #Telescope #Meade #SchmidtCassegrain #SCT #ForkMount #Astrophotography #RetroTelescoping #80s #GenX
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For our 30th anniversary, we went to a smaller town called Fredericksburg, TX for a 3 day weekend and enjoyed German food and some dark skies. I took pictures of the Heart Nebula, appropriate for such an event, and the M74 galaxy.
Heart Nebula
AT90CFT @ 432mm FL
Canon SL1 (unmod)
ISO800
180s x 10Messier 74 the Phantom Galaxy
AT90CFT @ 432mm FL
Canon SL1 (unmod)
ISO800
180s x 21 -
The January 2026 Field of View is out now from the Westport Astronomical Society—and it’s packed with member astrophotography, WAS updates, K1WAS radio fun, science news, and the usual cosmic shenanigans.
Grab a hot drink, click the link, and dive in:
👉 https://mailchi.mp/was-ct/fov_january-2026Clear skies. Cold nights. Good reads.
#FieldOfView #WAS #WestportAstronomicalSociety #WestportObservatory #AmateurAstronomy #Astrodon #Astrophotography -
🎁🔭 Did you get a telescope for the holidays? Congrats—you now own a precision optical instrument and a chance to get confused fast. Before you point it at a streetlight and give up, read this Sky & Telescope guide on setup, alignment, and what to look at first:
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/stargazing-basics/how-to-start-out-with-your-new-telescope/Then skip the trial-and-error and join the Westport Astronomical Society to learn with a group of experienced amateur astronomers.
https://was-ct.org/membership-signup/ -
Hmm, this nebula doesn't have a name, I'm thinking Stitch Nebula in honor of Lilo & Stitch. Or maybe the Jerboa Nebula? It's right next to the Bubble nebula, which gets all the press. The bright spot in the middle doesn't even have a designation in the World Wide Telescope, or Aladin? Going to try to get some data with #iTelescope tonight on T14.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stitch_(Lilo_%26_Stitch)
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Ah there are a few background galaxies in this area I managed to get. Nothing to write home about, but comparing the full view to Aladin, probably about a dozen. These are the "best" haha, I can see 2 easy ones, one hard one, and one very tiny speck. All from suburban Austin with a 90mm diameter telescope and 12 year old DSLR.
#astronomy #amateurAstronomy #astrophotography -
NGC 7293 the Helix Nebula
49 x 90s
AT90CFT with .8 reducer at 432mm
Canon SL1, unmodified
HAE43EC, unguided.This nebula is about 6 times wider and 3 times closer than the Snowglobe, so it actually has a nice size at 432mm. They're fairly equivalent in age, so I would guess the Helix had the larger progenitor star, but Wikipedia didn't mention it. Would definitely be worth doing again from a dark sky site.
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NGC 6781, the Snowglobe Nebula
20 x 90s
AT90CFT with .8 reducer at 432mm
Canon SL1, unmodded
HAE43EC, unguidedA little dull with no background galaxies visible! But the darker patches of sky are Milky Way dust clouds.
Just a little snowglobe, sitting all alone out there.
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👽🚀 Interstellar visitor alert! Amateur astronomers have captured rare images of comet 3I/ATLAS, revealing a bizarre sunward-pointing blue tail 🛸🌌
The faint, fast-moving comet looks like a glowing tadpole in an Aug. 28th animation by Gerald Rhemann & Michael Jäger.
🔗 Full story: Spaceweather.com
#CometAtlas #3IATLAS #AmateurAstronomy #SpaceWeather #Astrophotography