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Photo by: Jastrow Creative Commons Setting circles are disks used on various telescopes outfitted with an equatorial mount to aid in the search for astronomical objects anywhere in the sky by referencing equatorial coordinates used in the star charts. It functions by attaching those graduated disks to the right ascension and to the declination axis […]
People from all walks of life may not agree on most things. But it is assumed that they do agree on the beauty of the sky, especially on a clear night. When you chance upon a meteor shower, you look up in awe in its beauty. But when you come upon a meteor storm, you
A neutron, together with an electron and a proton, makes up an atom, the tiny particle that is the building block of all matter and everything that is in the universe. These three components of an atom were once thought to be the very basic building blocks of matter, but later discoveries unearthed the existence
Stellar evolution encompasses the life of a star from its formation until its end. Many astronomers believe that the birthplaces of a star are those molecular clouds of gas located in the spiral arms of galaxies. The life of a star begins when protostars are created from the collapsed dense regions of gas clouds. At
Light emitted by astronomical bodies is one of the major clues found in the vast universe. With light, astronomers and astrophysicists can see beyond the stunning brilliance of the celestial bodies found in our galaxy. The Sun is probably one of the most brilliant celestial bodies that we have seen and the nearest to Earth.
Fine lines or webs used in the focal plane eyepiece are called Reticle. It is used for centering objects or as a guide for making angular measurements. It is commonly used for telescopes, cameras and even rifles. It is also known as graticule. The lines on the reticle are also typically illuminated.
One of the most important features or power of a telescope is its capability of showing us the smallest details along with clear, sharp images of the object that we are viewing. This is what’s referred to as its resolving power. There are certain celestial objects that are too close together that they tend to
Redshift is an important concept in astronomy that is used to describe the distance of a far away object. As a term in physics, redshift refers to the change in the frequency of a photon from higher to lower energy and accordingly from shorter to longer wavelength. In simple terms though this just means that
The biggest stars in the universe are called red supergiants. To get a picture of how huge these stars are, just imagine being able to fit 1800 suns into one red supergiant or imagine the sun growing so much that it already reaches the orbit of Saturn. But their superiority in size does not mean
When you look at stars in the night sky, it appears like they are just tiny dots of light that look the same. However, they are millions of lights years away, stars look very different from how they appear at night. They are in fact classified into several types according to their size, temperature, and
