SUNSET: 
Good Lighting Fixtures: Where to Get Them
Here's a selection of manufacturers and suppliers of good lighting equipment.
Time In the Sky and the Amateur Astronomer
While civil time is based on official edit, the celestial clockwork follows its own rhythms.
Observing from the City
With the stars increasing being lost amid the light pollution of our urban areas, is there no hope for an astronomer in the city? Fortunately, there's still a lot of observing that can be done.
Gauging Light Pollution: The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale
Excellent? Typical? Urban? Use this nine-step scale to rate the sky conditions at any observing site.
Online Data and Catalog Links
Astronomical Data Center (ADC) Astrophysical Data System (ADS) Canada Astronomical Data Center (CADC) Digitized Sky Survey Double Star Library JPL's Solar System Dynamics Group NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) NGC/IC Project Planetary Data System (PDS) SkyView Solar Terrestrial Dispatch Star Data Pages Strasbourg Astronomical Data…
Amateur Research Societies
The Amateur Sky Survey (TASS) American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) American Lunar Society Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers Astronomy and Astromicroscopy Center for Backyard Astrophysics Dutch Meteor Society Galilean Satellite Eclipse Timings Grup d'Estudis Astronomics (Spain) International Amateur-Professional Photoelectric Photometry (IAPPP) International Meteor Organization International Occultation Timing…
Magazines and Journals
Amateur Astronomy Magazine Astronomical JournalAstronomical Review Astronomie Heute (German language) Astronomy Education Review Astronomy Now Astrophysical Journal and Astrophysical Journal Letters Australian Sky & Telescope Coelum (Italian language) EurekAlert! science research news server Icarus Journal of the British Astronomical Association Mercury Meteorite! Nature The Planetarian Popular Astronomy Publications of the…
Professional Research Links
American Astronomical Society (AAS) American Meteor Society Astrophysical Institute of the Canary Islands Berkeley Illinois Maryland Association (BIMA) Brown University Planetary Geology California Space Institute Canadian Space Agency Meteorites and Impacts Advisory Committee Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) High…
Join the Fight Against Light Pollution
Only a tiny fraction of amateur astronomers do anything to help reduce bad outdoor lighting. We need to change that.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Light Pollution
Knowledge is power: here are the facts you need to help you combat light pollution in your neighborhood.
Links for Observing & More!
Observing Guides Anthony Mallama's Lunar Eclipse Page Astra's Star Gate Astronomica Langrenus Astronomical League Youth Resources Astronomy with a 60-mm Refractor Atmospheric Optics Aurora Page Astronomy and Astromicroscopy Binary Stars Ray Cash's Deep-Sky Page Comets and Meteor Showers Ben Crowell's BinoSky Deep-Sky.org Denis Fell's Astro Page Dennis Ward's "The Silicon…
Online Astronomy Newsletters & Web Portals
AmSky AstroNews Astronomibladet (Danish) Astronomie.com (German) Astronomy Education Review The Cosmic Mirror Dave's Astronomy Magazine The Lunar Observer Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter MeteoriteTimes.com North American Skies Regulus! Royal Astronomical Society of Canada SPACE.com SACNEWS ScienceWeek Skylights Universe Today
Astronomy Blogs & Podcasts
Blogs SkyandTelescope.com's Blogs Above the Clouds Aditi's Astro-Area Astronomy Blog Astroprof's Page A Voyage To Arcturus Kaustav Bhattacharya's Astro London boyruageek James Butler's Astro Diary Centauri Dreams Clear Skies on Demand Varun Khetarpal's Explore Universe Space Blog Rob Kosinski's Dirty Skies Megan's Blog Ian Musgrave's Astroblog NYC Nova Hunter Observing…
Online Star Charts
SkyandTelescope.com's Interactive Sky Chart AstroImage AstroViewer Hawaiian Astronomical Society's Storybook and Deepsky Atlas Heavens Above National Geographic's Star Chart Nearest and Brightest Stars in VRML Sky View Café Project DeepSkyMap StarGazer Java atlas Starchart Map Server Skymaps.com Weather Underground Sky Chart
How can I polar align in the daytime?
I want to see a planetary transit. How can I polar align my telescope in the daytime? One good way is to use the Sun. Carefully level your mount with a bubble level and set the polar axis to the latitude of your site. Hang a weighted string from the…
How do I clean eyepiece lenses?
Very carefully — and not often! Here are some tips to help you keep your optics clean.
My Place in the Dark
Twenty weekends and countless trips to the building-supplies store later, I'd done it — I had an observatory to call my own.
An Observatory with Sails
After working at Sky & Telescope for nearly a decade I got the chance to build the observatory I'd always wanted.
My "Flapping Roof" Observatory
By day my observatory looks like an ordinary (if rather grandiose) garden shed. At night the roof sections go down and back up. They "flap" like a bird's wings.
Accurate Polar Alignment with Your Telescope
Long-exposure astrophotography requires an accurately aligned equatorial mount.
