Featured Entries
Planetary photography from 2020
30/01/2021 - 2020 was one of the best "planetary" years. The infamous "Great Conjunction" of Saturn and Jupiter (photo). Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in opposition and at very favourable altitudes. Also Venus was unusually high above the horizon during evening hours (photo).
Moon Close up Fragments:
4/4/2020 - Close up photos and small panoramas of the moon made with a 300mm F/4 Newtonian telescope and ASI290MC camera. Copernicus, Plato region and Sinus Iridium
Sinus Iridium on the Moon"What Can You See With a Telescope" Article
25/9/2014: An illustrated guide which shows how planets and deep sky objects really look like to a visual observer through different sized telescopees, under various conditions. Simulated views used in this article were created using real photos and astronomical sketches.
Deep-Sky Hunter star atlas update - 2nd revision
1/6/2017: A second revision of the Deep Sky Hunter atlas was released, which features labels fixes and cleanup, magnitude index for each chart, a smaller file and a "field" W/B edition.
The printable Deep Sky Hunter star atlas is designed for serious deep sky observers. It features 101 A3 charts which cover the entire sky + 21 "zoom" maps, indications of 500 "best" objects, nebulae outlines, common names, index pages and naviation marks.
Starlink Satellites - Simulation on a Night Sky:
5/6/2019: Schematic visualization videos of the night sky with all 12000 planned starlink satellites, some explanation and additional projects
Telescope, CCD and Eyepiece Collection Calculator:
8/7/2017: Two new spreadsheet calculators: One for planning and managing an eyepiece collection and another one for calculating numerous parameters for planetary and deep sky astrophotography
Sketches of Faint Galaxy Groups in Pegasus
6/8/2016 - Excellent transparency conditions and dark skies in Israeli Negev desert allowed me to view and sketch some really faint galaxies in Pegasus. The following drawings feature galaxies as faint as magnitude 14.4 which I observed through a 250mm Newtonian telescope.
"How to Look at the Sun Safely" Article
24/1/2016: An article which covers the most common methods for observing the Sun and the solar eclipse - from a simple pinhole projector to a white light and narrowband filters.
"Secondary Mirror Replacement, Collimation and Testing" Article
11/3/2017 - An article which explains when and how to replace a secondary mirror of a Newtonian telescope, test it for vignetting and astigmatism, calculate the offset and instructions for a basic collimation procedure.
Sketches of Omega Centauri, Pinwheel Galaxy and Messier 3
1/5/2014 - It's time to post some new sketches. The most interesting entry is the Omega Centauri globular cluster (NGC 5139). Messier 3 is also worth noting - it was my first attempt to make a "non inverted" sketch using a white pencil on a black paper.
A Photo of the Supermoon Eclipse, sep 2015
28/9/2015: A quite rare event of total lunar eclipse during a "supermoon". The next such event won't take place until 2033. Click on the images to see a few photos I made using a small 80mm ED doublet refractor and a Canon 500D DSLR.
Articles: DIY dew Control System, Padded Eyepiece Case.
13/02/2015 - An article which explains how to build a dew control system, which includes 4 heaters and a 4 channel PWM dew controller. Another article is about a DIY eyepiece case.
Sketches of Some Galaxies and Globulars
17/9/2012 - Drawings of some globular clusters and galaxies. Three clusters on top are: M2, M79, M75 - globulars which are located at different distances from us. The next skecth is a ring-shaped open cluster Cr21 with two neighbouring galaixes. At the bottom right you can see the WLM (Wulf Lundmark Melotte) irregular galaxy, which proved to be a real challenge to spot with it's surface brightness nearing 15m. Click on the images to see the full sized drawings.
Sketches: A triplet of globulars - Messier 2, Messer 79, Messier 75
Timelapse Videos of Milky Way and a Thunderstorm
2012 - At left there is a timelapse video of milky way, which I've made during this year's perseids meteor shower. At right there is a timelapse video of moon rising over Cyprus coastline, during a distant thunderstorm (which was taken during my honeymoon).
Transit of Venus (2012) and Transit of Mercury (2016)
6/6/2012 - The Second (and the last) transit of Venus I had a chance to observe. Visually this was a spectacular phenomenon, and I've yet to see a photo which compares to the visual experience I had - seeing the dark disk of Venus hovering above huge, bright Sun, filled with numerous sunspots.
9/5/2016 - A few years later there was yet another spectacular event - a transit of Mercury across the Sun. This is a rare opportunity to observe relative sizes of a star and a planet.
Sketches of the Markarian's Chain and the Coma Cluster
21/4/2012 - During this night the sky was particulary dark and transparent, and since the galaxy hunting season is at its end - I've spent some time observing galaxy clusters with my new Skywatcher 250mm Newtonian. These are drawings of the Coma galaxy cluster and the Markarian's Chain (along with Messier 87).
Sketches of "Rosette" and "Pac Man" Nebulae
21/11/2011 - Sketches of some star forming H-II nebulae regions - the Rosette and the Pacman. Observing session with a 8" Newtonian was held at the Negev desert in Israel.
Jupiter and Io's Shadow Transit - Timelapse Animation:
22/10/2011 - Timelapse video of Jupiter's rotation, over a period of 2 hours.
A transit of Io and its shadow is followed by GRS. Also the Callisto moon is visible. Video was taken from Rehovot city in Israel. Instruments used: Canon 500D DSLR and 8" F/5 equatorial Newtonian. Seeing varied between fair to good (4..7/10).
Click on image to watch the animation, or see it in Youtube:
Some Additional Astrosketches:
5/8/2011 - Results from last weekend's observing session in Borot Lutz, Negev desert.
Sketches of the North America nebula region, The Sculptor Galaxy, NGC 6781 and others.
Sketches: Messier 13, Messier 17 and Barnard 86:
06/5/2011 - Drawings of the Great Glubular Cluster in Hercules and the Swan nebula, made during an observing session in Negev desert. The Inkspot dark nebula was sketched at july 1th from the same location.
Sketches of the Andromeda Galaxy, M35 and Others:
2/12/2012 - These are results of my last observing session - I've finally managed to sketch the Andromeda Galaxy (obvious target at this season) as well as some other favorites: Messier 35 with its fuzzy partner, and maybe a little bit less familiar "Hickson 90" group of four faint galaxies in Pisces Austrinus.
Sketches of Double Stars in Cassiopeia Region:
18/09/2010 - These sketches were made while observing through Orion 8" newtonian telescope from Rehovot city in Israel. It was a long time since I last sketched doubles. They are a good reminder that there is color in the universe hiding within the stars, and not everything is gray.
Veil Nebula Sketch:
10/09/2010 - I've finally managed to sketch the eastern part of the great Veil nebula (NGC 6995 and NGC 6995) - one of my favorite deep sky objects. The sketch was made using Orion 8" Newtonian at a relatively dark observing site in Negev desert in Israel
