March 18, 2019: The One Big Drawback to Working at a Telescope Store

Banner photo credit: Sarah Fisher, through a 127mm Mak Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day! Saturday night, the Denver Astronomical Society held its monthly Open House at Chamberlin Observatory. This is where the DAS invites members of the general public to come on out and look through the historic, 125-year-old 20-inch Alvan Clark refractor. They can […]

March 3, 2019 (updated 12/1/24): Why You Should Stay Far, FAR Away From That $100 to $200 Telescope

Many beginners interested in getting their first scope will often ask about getting one for about $100 to $200 or so. Buying a scope in this price range is a mistake. A big mistake. Scopes in this price range are so bad that they can frustrate you right out of the hobby. After buying a […]

February 1, 2019: H-alpha Solar Observing

One of the very nice benefits of working in a telescope shop is, of course, that you get to play with all the telescopes. There’s no better way to learn about a scope than to physically put it together, set it up, and then point it out the front window of the shop and look […]

January 21, 2019: Lunar Eclipse!

Banner photo credit: Meeeeeee!!!! What, you were expecting me to rant about the “Stupidmoon” all over again? Yeah, I’ve ranted and raved about all these stupid names that the media keeps applying to lunar eclipses – which I refuse to repeat here. But just like Ryan O’Neal was forced to do by a relentless Barbra […]

January 10, 2019: Telescopes Are Like Shoes – One Scope Can’t Do It All

“Okay, now WTH is he talking about?” It’s an analogy I use to explain the differences between different scopes, and why there’s no one perfect scope that does it all. You have different shoes for different purposes: sneakers, dress shoes, boots, slippers. Yes, even Crocs. They each serve their purpose, and you don’t wear one […]

December 17, 2018: Holy Geminids! and Comet 46P/Wompwomp

Banner photo credit: Jon Greif Just a quick post about the Geminid meteor shower and Comet 46P/Wirtanen. Thursday night, December 13, we got out to the Denver Astronomical Society’s dark site, about 60 miles east of town. Thursday was the peak night of the shower. It was actually cloudy when we left, but the forecast […]

December 12, 2018: Orion Sirius Pro AZ-EQ/G, Part III – Customer Service

Part three? What happened to part one and part two? Oh, there they are. The tl;dr version of those posts from last year is first that I had the wrong power supply for this mount, and then when I got the right power supply, the mount worked very well with my little 8-pound Mak on […]

November 18, 2018: Mile High Astronomy

For me, it’s practically a dream come true – I am working in an astronomy store! A fellow DAS member, Sorin (like Cher and Madonna, he only has one name), has opened up a brand new telescope shop here in Denver, the only one for 500 miles in any direction. Denver has not had a […]

October 23, 2018: Colors (And Detail) In Space

Banner photo: Credit: Richard Yandrick (Cosmicimage.com) Yes! You can see color in some astronomical objects! The planets are paramount in this area. Mars looks orange, with some darker areas (although they’re tough to see without a good filter, like the Baader Moon & SkyGlow). To my eyes, Jupiter is a bit yellow-y, with dark brownish […]

October 17, 2018: Soakie-Tex, Yurts, the VLA, and Enchanted Clouds

Well, the title sure speaks volumes, doesn’t it? Yuck! While I enjoy camping, camping in a downpour sure ain’t fun. And camping in an almost freezing downpour, even less so. We got to Okie-Tex in Kenton, Oklahoma (at the extreme western end of the Oklahoma panhandle) after a slight detour to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. […]