News from far away places

It should be a good weekend for sky gazing as the Perseid and Aquarid meteor showers are both hitting at the same time. Unfortunately, the peak on August 12, coincides with a full moon and it will be up most of the night. This weekend we have a half moon that sets at 10:30 - 11:00.

And just to get you in the mood, check this out. (Click the full screen at bottom right for full effect).

Ocean Sky from Alex Cherney on Vimeo.

Alex Cherney lives in Australia so you won't be seeing any of these stars around here. Also of interest is his choice of the Dobsonian mounted telescope. The Dobsonian doesn't have a polar axis, and back in the days of film, was rarely, if ever, used by astro-photographers. The light gathering power of the digital camera is what makes these videos possible. Even so, this video took over a year to make. He has several other videos and some nice still shots on his website, terrastro.com.