Telescope Buying Guide [5 Step Infographic]

Post author:Kevin Francis
Post published:August 4, 2018
Post category:Astronomy Infographic Telescope

Telescope Buying Guide Buying a telescope is much like buying a car. Asking a car owner "What car should I buy?" will lead to a multitude of answers. This can…

Telescope: Meade EXT-125 Camera: Google Pixel Photographer: Kevin Francis

Mars: The Red Planet on Display in Summer 2018 [Dust Storm]

Post author:Kevin Francis
Post published:July 20, 2018
Post category:Astronomy Astrophysics Night Sky Planets Smartphone Telescope

During the last star party at The Virginia Living Museum, I laid eyes on Mars for the first time this year. It rose above the horizon to become the fitting…

Telescope: Meade EXT-125 Camera: Google Pixel

Saturn: Photographing the Cassini Division 2018 Update [Rings]

Post author:Kevin Francis
Post published:July 18, 2018
Post category:Astronomy Night Sky Planets Smartphone Telescope

Light travels about 2 hours from the Sun to Saturn to your telescope. We can spend about that much time searching for the perfect picture of planet and rings. Because…

Telescope: Meade EXT-125 Camera: Google Pixel

Derotation in Astrophotography [Field Rotation]

Post author:Kevin Francis
Post published:July 15, 2018
Post category:Astronomy Night Sky Planets Post Processing Smartphone Telescope

Derotation in Astrophotography is Amazing I learned something new this weekend. I learned about a technique in astrophotography called Derotation. I'm amazed at what a little imagination and scientific skill…

True color Moon, June 29, 2018.

Moon: Take Photos & Find Many Colors [Brown or Grey]

Post author:Kevin Francis
Post published:July 1, 2018
Post category:Moon Night Sky Smartphone Telescope

You don't have to be an astrophotographer to have a photo of the Moon in your collection. The Moon appears, markedly, in all of the photos in with the same…

Beehive Cluster: I Don’t See Anything There [Magnitude]

Post author:Kevin Francis
Post published:June 2, 2018
Post category:Night Sky Smartphone Star Clusters Stars Telescope

Light Pollution In light polluted areas, seeing fuzzy star clusters is nearly impossible to the naked eye. Therefore, when I attended a Star Party at the Virginia Living Museum, I…

Google Pixel Really Blue

Equipment Spotlight: Google Pixel Really Blue [Color]

Post author:Kevin Francis
Post published:May 28, 2018
Post category:Astronomy Night Sky Planets Smartphone Star Clusters Stars Telescope Universe

The pictures are improving, my editing skills are improving, and the results are joyful, but in case you haven't noticed yet, my camera of choice is my Google Pixel Really…

Super Moon 2017

I’ve Got a Telescope or Two

Post author:Kevin Francis
Post published:May 20, 2018
Post category:Moon Planets Telescope

"What kind of telescope should I buy?" If you're like me and you meet any number of novice astronomers, this is a question you hear a lot. My answer is…