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Although overlooked by many amateur astronomers, solar observation is both rewarding and fun. However, because
the Sun is so bright, special precautions must be taken when observing our star so as not to damage your eyes or your
telescope.
Never project an image of the Sun through the telescope. Tremendous heat build-up may result inside the optical tube.
This can damage the telescope and/or any accessories attached to the telescope.
For safe solar viewing, use a Celestron solar filter that reduces the intensity of the Sun's light, making it safe to view.
With a filter you can see sunspots as they move across the solar disk and faculae, which are bright patches seen near the
Sun's edge.
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•
The best time to observe the Sun is in the early morning or late afternoon when the air is cooler.
•
To center the Sun without looking into the eyepiece, watch the shadow of the telescope tube until it
forms a circular shadow.
•
To ensure accurate tracking on GT models, be sure to select solar tracking rate.
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Deep sky objects are simply those objects outside the boundaries of our solar system. They include star clusters,
planetary nebulae, diffuse nebulae, double stars and other galaxies outside our own Milky Way. Most deep sky objects
have a large angular size. Therefore, low-to-moderate power is all you need to see them. Visually, they are too faint to
reveal any of the color seen in long exposure photographs. Instead, they appear black and white. And, because of their
low surface brightness, they should be observed from a dark sky location. Light pollution around large urban areas
washes out most nebulae making them difficult, if not impossible, to observe. Light Pollution Reduction filters help
reduce the background sky brightness, thus increasing contrast.
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One of the best ways to find celestial objects while learning your way around the nighttime sky, is star hopping. Star
hopping is done by using bright stars to "guide" you to an object. Here are directions for one popular object.
The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is an easy target. To find M31:
1.
Locate the constellation of Pegasus (see illustration below), a large square visible in the fall (in the eastern
sky moving toward the point overhead) and winter months (overhead moving toward the west).
2.
Start at the star in the northeast corner—Alpha (
α
) Andromedae.
3.
Move northeast approximately 7°. There you will find two stars of equal brightness—Delta (
δ
) and Pi (
π
)
Andromeda—about 3° apart.
4.
Continue in the same direction another 8°. There you will find two stars—Beta (
β
) and Mu (
µ
)
Andromedae—also about 3° apart.
5.
Move 3° northwest—the same distance between the two star—to the Andromeda galaxy. It is easily visible in
the finder.
