Astronomy Boy: Amateur Astronomy



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	Getting Started

	CG-5 Improvements

	SAA 100 Deep Sky List

	Constellation Portraits

	Barn Door Tracker

	Comet Hale-Bopp

	Homemade Eyepieces

	EQ Mount Tutorial

	Millennium Rant

	Who Is Astronomy Boy?

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Current Moon Phase
Courtesy U.S. Naval Observatory

Welcome
The information at this web site reflects my personal interests in amateur astronomy. There are features here for newcomers, for do-it-yourselfers, for deep sky observers, and for astrophotographers. Your comments are always welcome.
Clear skies,
Jeff DeTray

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Clear Sky Clock

The Clear Sky Clock is a prediction of when Astronomy Boy's Black Swamp Observatory will have good weather for astronomical observing. Click for details.

Getting Started in Astronomy
Got a new telescope? Thinking of buying one? Don't know what your next step should be? Check out Astronomy Boy's guide to getting started in astronomy, including telescope buying advice, lists of informative web sites, books for newcomers, and local astronomy clubs and observatories.

CG-5 Mount Improvements
The CG-5 German equatorial mount is a Chinese-made clone of the well-known Vixen Great Polaris (GP) mount.

Although the CG-5 is quite popular, many examples suffer from sticky movements in both the right ascension and declination axes. Astronomy Boy shows you how to smooth out the motions of your CG-5.

Build a Barn Door Tracker
A barn door tracker (also known as a Haig or Scotch mount) is a tracking camera mount that lets you get started in astrophotography, even if you don't own a telescope. Check out Astronomy Boy's barn door, along with all the information you need to build your own.

Homemade Eyepieces
If you're looking for a build-it-yourself astronomy project, but constructing an entire telescope seems too complex, how about making your own eyepieces? It's surprisingly easy to do if you have some basic woodworking skills and a few common tools.

Constellation Portraits
The stuff of myths and legends, the constellations of the night sky tell stories as old as mankind. As these photos demonstrate, it's easy to make beautiful constellation portraits with simple equipment.

SAA 100 Deep Sky Catalog
The most famous catalog of deep sky objects is the one compiled by Charles Messier in the 18th century. Now, participants in the sci.astro.amateur newsgroup have nominated a new list of the 100 best non-Messier objects for amateur telescopes, the SAA 100.

Equatorial Mount Tutorial
Puzzled by your German equatorial mount? These animations show how to point your telescope to any part of the sky.

Comet Hale-Bopp
The winter and spring of 1997 brought a bright comet to our skies. As these photos show, it was easy to capture beautiful images of Comet Hale-Bopp on film without complicated equipment. Enjoy the pictures, and be ready when the next bright comet comes our way!

Getting Started | CG-5 Mount | SAA 100 List | Constellation Portraits | Barn Door Tracker
Comet Hale Bopp | Homemade Eyepieces | EQ Mount Tutorial | Millennium Rant | Biography | Home

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