Astronomy Hub

We’ve all seen them - an apparently random streak of light across the night sky that often vanishes as suddenly as it appears. Meteors, or shooting stars as they’re popularly known, are nothing more than tiny clumps of dust and rock particles, no larger than an apple seed, burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere at thousands of miles per hour.

Look through any telescope at the Moon and you’ll immediately notice something you can’t see with just your eyes - craters. But how did the craters form? Is the Moon the only world to have them? And what are some good craters to look at on the Moon?

We are pleased to announce the best telescopes for 2023! Each telescope was evaluated for its performance and value relative to its peers. The list we compiled contains some brand names we are all familiar with and others that you might not have heard of yet.

The Celestial objects we see in the sky appear to be located on the surface of a great sphere of immense diameter, with us at the center. This is called “the Celestial Sphere”. Understanding the Celestial Sphere is critical to understanding why, for example, an equatorial mount is needed for astrophotography.

The number of inventions that have changed the world is staggering, but one, in particular, has been able to change our view of the world—literally. When humans had nothing but their eyes to use as stargazing tools, questions abounded. What are the stars? Where are we in the universe? What else is out there? What do the other planets look like?

Congratulations on purchasing Apertura Collimation Knobs for Celestron NexStar 130 SLT & StarSense Explorer 130AZ DX Telescopes. Get ready to improve your experience under the night sky by allowing for easier, tool-free collimation!

Congratulations on purchasing Apertura Collimation Knobs for Celestron NexStar 130 SLT & StarSense Explorer 130AZ DX Telescopes. Get ready to improve your experience under the night sky by allowing for easier, tool-free collimation!

There are many misconceptions about what a lunar eclipse is. Will the Moon actually turn red? Can I look at the Moon during the eclipse? For an experienced astronomer, the answer to these questions may seem obvious. But for a complete beginner to the hobby, these misunderstandings can set the wrong expectations.

The Moon doesn’t have any light of its own, but (like the Earth) it reflects the light of the Sun. It takes the Moon about 27 days to complete an orbit of the Earth, and as it moves, sunlight strikes its surface. Half of the Moon’s surface is illuminated by sunlight while the other half remains in darkness. The phase of the Moon is determined by how much of the sunlit side we can see from the Earth.

Neither Mercury nor Venus are visible this month, but Saturn can still be enjoyed for a few hours after sunset. You’ll find it above the southwestern horizon, with a first quarter Moon nearby on the 1st and a waxing crescent Moon close by on the 28th.

In essence, a nebula is a cloud of gas and dust in space; in fact, the word itself is derived from Latin and means “mist” or “cloud” - and when it comes to astronomy, there couldn’t be a more apt description. There are four primary types of nebulae: diffuse nebulae (or, simply nebulae), dark nebulae, planetary nebulae, and supernova remnants.

There is no doubt that the factory configuration of Dobsonian telescopes offer fantastic performance. The many positive user reviews and recommendations back this statement. And while this is true, we took things a step further by looking to increase the performance of this telescope. The multifaceted Apertura Dobsonian Performance Upgrade kit does just that!

Apertura Dobsonians offer great performance out of the box, and now Apertura is taking it one step further with this multi-faceted performance upgrade kit! Get the most out of your Dobsonian telescope so you can spend more time viewing the night sky and less time worrying about collimation or stray light.

We wouldn’t know even a fraction of what’s out there in the night sky if it weren’t for telescopes. Before they were invented, mankind could only gaze up and wonder. What exactly were all those dots? Were they far away, or very small? Why did some of the bigger dots move around so much? Even after astronomers began answering some of these questions, more popped up in their place. The bigger the questions, the more technology we needed to answer them.

Few things in astronomy - or in nature itself - rival the wonder and spectacle of a total solar eclipse. It’s an event that’s instilled awe and fear among people around the world for thousands of years, and it’s a sight that, once seen, can never be forgotten.