Stargazing through Amazon
346537
This is a great book for beginners in the field of Astronomy. Unlike some of the other books I considered purchasing, it is clear cut and easy to understand. Enough content to keep you interested, but not so much it will bog down a beginner. I do wish it had information on astrophotography. If it is there, I have not come across it yet. There are only eight pages of color photos,and more color photos of what you might see would be very helpful. I am planning on using this book in conjunction with a new telescope and the information it provides will certainly get me around the Universe in an informative and fun manner. I am looking forward to getting into this book more as our Missouri sky warms this spring.
  I was also fortunate to come across this book in a hard back version which I feel is much more practical due to the use this book will get! Amazon was the only source I found that offered a hard back version.
447936
This book is great for all stargazers. Geared more for kids, with it's cute illustrations and brief history recaps, but anyone will enjoy taking the book out into the dark and see the glow in the dark pages match the night sky. Easy to use. Highly recommend
1405146
This is perfect with a wide field of view on any night with a moon or stars.  On overcast nights you can turn on the red LED for additional illumination, but your field of view is cut to about 1/3.  I'm not sure why.
4755066
I'd been looking at this and snapped it up when I saw when I saw a great price at Costco -- and the current Amazon price of under $100 is even better!
SET UP - Swap out the batteries for Lithiums to save having to change them so often. It only measures where it is, so choose the location with that in mind. Think about sun and shade and unobstructed rainfall. The higher you put it, the more likely wind will be unobstructed. But remember, you'll have to change the batteries eventuallly.
RAIN -- I also use a CoCoRaHS rain gauge. The rain measurements are very close between the two gauges.
SNOW - Forget it. This cannot handle anything frozen, it only measures the liquid that flowes through its sensor.
TEMPERATURE - has been very close to other measures for both indoor and outdoor temparature I have
HUMIDITY - the readings agree or are very close to the numbers on my humidifiers
WIND - Official wind reports are almost always stronger - my gauge is only 8' off the ground, so not clear of tree and building interferance.
FORECASTING - While it's interesting to see what it predicts, to rely on it to forecast weather seems pretty silly to me. I use NOAA for that.
REPORTING - not accepted for reporting to CoCoRaHS - check their website for recommended equipment. Low tech, labor intensive, under $25, available on Amazon or through links on their site. For reporting to Weather Undergound see their website reviews for this and other options.
HISTORY - It's fun to read the scrolling info to see 7 day, 30 day, all-time high and low readings. I have not yet bothered to save data to my computer, so can't report on that.
3348368
Dec 2013: Arrived quickly in perfect condition. Simple to set up and to use. First target of course was the moon. The included 25mm lens provides an incredibly crisp image with the full moon occupying about 2/3 of the viewing diameter. The 10mm lens brought the craters in, especially when there was less than a full disk. (Highly recommend buying a moon filter and a Barlow lens effectivley doubling the number of magnification choices). Venus isa brilliant crescent right now (I didn't realize it would be a crescent, but it makes sense now). the most spectacular has been brining in Jupiter, the cloud bands, and her 4 large moons. the Orion Nebula has also been fascinating. Bottom line: I couldn't be happier with what I got at the price I paid.
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The worst part about this telescope is that I'm not getting enough sleep now; too much time looking up at the sky!
3454619
A great aid for exploring the night sky.  I want to learn more about what's out there.  This will help.
346858
This Dobsonian reflector telescope is great in many respects.  I delivers a large 8" aperture, which makes for maximal light gathering power at low cost, compared to much more expensive tracking scopes of more traditional optical design.  My 8" is easily. liftable and I can carry it fully assembled, from my house to my patio.  No tripod setup necessary!  It does weigh over 40 pounds and it takes a few tries to master holding onto the carrying handle and the tube at the same time, while maneuvering through doorways and such.  A larger version (10" or more) would be a challenge to move by one person and to load into a vehicle for offsite viewing.

What I love about this scope is that there is no fiddling with a tracking mechanism, which would require mastery of a small, expensive tracking computer and drive motor mechanism.  The optical tube sits in a simple "yoke," and is easily moved with a finger or two, since it is perfectly balanced in any position.  It comes with a simple optical device for pointing the scope at a celestial object visible to the naked eye.  Once the sight is calibrated (a pretty straightforward process involving adjusting two dials) you sight through the device and center the viewing object on a small red LED dot.  When you look through the scope, you viewing object is centered in the field of view.

The scope comes with a "star guide," a kind of circular slide rule that will tell you where to point the scope to view major celestial objects.  There is also a useful book on astronomical viewing.  I had fun viewing the moon (really great images), the sun (kind of disappointing due to lack of detail) and Jupiter (quite exciting to look at another planet almost a billion miles away!).  I recommend buying a good eyepiece or two, although the eyepieces and magnifying accessories that come with the scope are certainly adequate for casual viewing.

Winter weather has kept me from using my scope much, but when better viewing weather comes in the spring, here I come!
3308664
We have had our Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 for over 15 years.  Our children were in early grade school and now they are college students. It was a great tool for family activity building curiosity We used it two nights ago to see Jupiter and Venus in close proximity. We purchased a Sirrus Plossl 25mm, a Sirrus Plossl 10mm and a Shorty 2x Bartlow 1.25 as our lenses.  The 25mm is great for looking at the Moon.  The 10mm allows us to see Saturn's ring and Jupiter's moons. The Shorty Bartlow is designed to be used along with another lenses and multiply its magnification by 2x, we have not used it often as the lenses by themselves give a clear image.  Being a reflector telescope the image will be reversed if looking at two planets together, as it was when we looked at Venus and Jupiter.  We also have a 50mm pair of binoculars.  When I was researching telescopes all those years ago I read a article that suggested a good pair of binoculars if you couldn't afford a telescope.  We can see the craters on the moon clearly with the 50mm binoculars and you can see stars hidden from the naked eye as well.
1616484
Do you love to stargaze?  Does the night sky capture your imagination and evoke a sense of awe and wonder within your inner most being?  Do you remember when you were a child and you wished upon a star or tried to find the big and little dipper?  Maybe you can remember thinking you saw the man in the moon!  Our family loves doing all these things.  There is not much better to do on a warm summer evening than to grab a blanket and head outside to enjoy the wonderful night sky that God has blessed us with.

Even though everything I mentioned above is fun to do there is so much more to the night sky than what we see when we look up!  As a homeschool mom I love turning every day life moments into learning adventures.  There is so much to learn about the night sky and Dr. Jason Lisle's book - The Stargazer's Guide to the Night Sky is an amazing resource tool for learning all you can about the stars, constellations, the moon, planets and so, so much more!

The book comes in textbook form and is filled with beautiful pictures and information on everything from Telescopes to Astrophotography and everything in between.  On the very front cover page you will find Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

I love a book that not only fills you with knowledge, but also has a foundation in The Word of God.  As Dr. Jason Lisle says in the book "An understanding of the heavens can only deepen a person's appreciation for the Creator".

This is not the first book we have of Dr. Jason Lisle and I'm sure it won't be the last.  We were able to meet him and listen to a few of his talks last year at a Homeschool Expo that we attend.  I do encourage you to read this book and other books of his!  God made this great big universe for us to enjoy and learn about!  Let this book be your Guide to the Night Sky!

*This book was provided to my by New Leaf Publishing in exchange for my review.
2494535
It was great to see this in my mailbox, 1 day ahead of schedule (as is often the case).  Now, all we need is a clear night and good seeing (i.e. not freakishly cold) to check it out.  This is the perfect mate for my 2" Televue Naglers.  My experience with the Baader 1.25" OIII has been stellar (pardon the pun), so I know I will be equally blown away by the panoramic views of nebulae this filter will provide.
439901
Ordered for grandson moved from the bright lights of the city to a rural area. He can really see the stars now and has enjoyed this book greatly. He uses it all of the time.
3441674
Christmas present for husband.  Perfect for amateur star gazers without a telescope in Pennsylvania.  Good info.  Highly Recommend for beginners like us.
2512869
Wish I had one. A cabin where you can see the stars at night.
4194687
The large star finder is easy to read, even in the dark, and the plastic casing protects it well.  All of The Night Sky star finders are great tools for anyone interested in learning about the stars, and the price is very reasonable.
2771707
It's a little awkward to admit that, as an amateur astronomer, I waited until the last minute to order a solar filter to observe the Venus transit in June 2012 (the last for 105 years!).  Most all retailers were sold out by the time I got around to it.  I credit my wife for finding the "Solar Eclipse Viewer" on Amazon.com.  I ordered it as a "last act of desparation," but, in the end, found that it delivered all the performance I could ask for.  I would have paid the same price for a single card, so the fact that there were five was a real bonus.
1099907
I like that you can view planets and celestial images through the view finder on one side and have your own rotating stars in the proverbial sky on the other side. I just wished the planet slides had an option to auto change rather than having to manually change them.
My only issue with the unit is that there's no auto shut-off so if you fall asleep, you're burning out the 4 AA batteries rather quickly.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqoV-OL43Sk
4096124
Happy I purchased this. Tried it in Death Valley for star photos, worked very well. I would use it only in a really dark sky though, where stronger filters would affect too much.