Links
Home Equipment Observing My Observatory Images Links Projects Bitz & Bobz Mail Me
Here are a few links which I found interesting & helpful as a novice.
There's good info for more experienced astronomers on some of the sites as well
| Clubs &
Societies
Suppliers Forums Amateur Sites Magazines Cheap / free Software Observing Info Other stuff Hitchhikers guide to astronomy
|
My local club. If you're anywhere near us why not drop in? There are tonnes of suppliers but these are the ones I like to use, based on quality, price and service Manufacturer of quality scopes. Quality optics made in England and tubes etc to customer's spec. Excellent supplier of various astro accessories. Very good customer service. Good stuff, great prices German supplier (English speaking) with a large range of stuff in different price ranges. Great service Lots of quality used scopes & new stuff too. Superb service. Supplier of my Orion Optics DX300 A priceless source of info from experienced astronomers, not salesmen Confusingly, a chat group for anyone into "Orion Optics" Telescopes, NOT "Orion" Telescopes Group for mainly DSI related stuff but other astro stuff also discussed. Huge group, very helpful Similar to above but with a more focused approach to tuition / techniques / continued learning etc Forum dedicated to Toucam imaging. What these guys achieve with a £30 webcam is jaw dropping... Group for discussion about retro-fitting GOTO systems, Mainly to Vixen clones but others also Building an observatory? Ask questions here Re-the program of the same name which is a very good GOTO program. See download link below Do you want to talk about Meade LXD-55 & 75 mounts & the OTAs supplied with them? Do it here Some nice sites by backyard astronomers Ian's site. A nice observatory project and some really nice deep sky pics, and a great name! Steve Arnold's site. Good amateur site with some quality pics, imaging help, general tips etc Dan Dabson's site. Useful links, plenty of pics and some good ideas. Nice collection of scopes too! Well designed site by Steve including some very useful tips, nice images and some great web effects This guy talks a lot of sense. Scroll down the page for his FAQ Great site by Mark (The Mad One) with some excellent "how to" articles for Meade stuff etc English language astro mags are a bit thin on the ground but here's my pick Best selling UK astronomy magazine. Good mix of amateur observing, science and reviews etc American mag but popular in UK / Europe also. Similar format to above New English mag. I haven't seen it yet but it's getting good reviews and gaining in popularity There are lots of astro programs out there but I've only listed cheap or free stuff which does a good job Excellent 3D planetarium for free Great free app for determining the real FOV of an eyepiece etc. Helps choose eyepieces for your setup User friendly goto app for Meade, Ascom etc. Cheap to buy, great support and my favourite goto wotsit Peter Katreniak's benchmark imaging software. The basic version is free and does the job very well Stuff to help you plan, observe and find targets etc Great site for satellite spotting & International Space Station tracking etc Handy printable free sky maps released monthly This weeks hot targets with finder charts List of all the Messier objects with info / pics etc. Good basic guide to magnitudes, which I struggle to get to grips with visually. Current pic showing any sunspots. Warning - I recommend you do not observe the sun through a scope Miscellaneous sites which I like Excellent. Simple collimation explained with sound & animated graphics. All you really need to know Astronomy for non gazillionaires. Same site as above. More graphics, great novice advice The official site of the Hubble Space Telescope. All my backgrounds are courtesy of this site Light hearted and very funny article about us amateurs and our preferred equipment Astronomy Pic Of The Day. A new astro pic each day with an explanation by a pro astronomer
|
