Page 2 The night sky made easy
The idea of being able to explore the universe, has long fascinated me, but sometimes it’s difficult to know where in the sky to look for things. Thankfully nowadays most of us have a computer or
laptop at home that we can use to plan our viewing sessions. There are
a whole host of software packages that can be used to explore space that are either free or quite inexpensive. Take
www.stellarium.org for example.
It’s a free program that you can
download for PC or Mac that allows you to explore what’s around you in the night sky without leaving the comfort of your study. Tablet and phone apps like “Star Walk” and “Stellarium Mobile” can be installed on your smartphone or tablet and enable you to simply point your device to the sky and identify the stars and planets you see. Recently someone in a group I was with, pointed up at a bright object in the night sky and exclaimed “I’m sure that’s the International Space Station”, within a few taps we were able to confirm that he was mistaken – it was in fact the planet Jupiter! If you have your own telescope, then you will be used to looking at objects like the moon and probably other celestial bodies – did you know that it’s also easy to attach your smartphone to the eyepiece to take pictures of what you see? Have a look on
amazon.co.uk; there are loads of “thingamebobs” that will attach your smartphone to your telescope. If you’re interested in learning more about the universe or even just want help with a telescope you have and are not sure how to use, then come along to our monthly meeting where there are lots of friendly and helpful people happy to share their knowledge and information.
Article by Richard Cavender of Blue Moon solutions computer company, who is the astrophotagraphy expert at the Veja Baja Astronomy Group.
Veja Baja Astronomy Group meet at Casa Tom on Avenida Jaca, San Luis Torrevieja, the second Wednesday of each month at 2.30pm. For more information email:-
vegabaja.astronomygroup@
gmail.com.
QF Focus Magazine
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