You searched for "amateur astronomers"
Top news results for amateur astronomers

Questar is gone: The fate of the world's most famous compact telescope
Friday, July 3, 2026 by Richard Harris
Like a lot of amateur astronomers, I can still remember flipping through Astronomy magazine in the 1980s and stopping on those Questar ads. There it was, this small, polished, precision telescope photographed like a fine instrument, not just another piece of astronomy gear. I wanted one pretty bad b...

Open Astro Project Expands Alpaca Bridge Astronomy Hardware Support
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 by Ben Conway
For most of us amateur astronomers, the equipment is only half the battle. The other half is getting everything to work together reliably under a dark sky when time is limited and clear nights are even more limited. Over the years we've seen countless hardware solutions come and go, each promisi...

iPhone plate solving app AstroHelm launches
Monday, May 11, 2026 by Austin Harris
Astronomical plate solving is a process used in astrophotography and telescope control to determine exactly where a telescope or camera is pointed in the night sky. Traditionally, this requires specialized software that takes an image from an astronomy camera, analyzes the pattern of stars in tha...

Build Your Own Mini Observatory
Thursday, May 7, 2026 by Richard Harris
For many amateur astronomers the dream begins the same way. Carrying equipment into the backyard night after night. Polar aligning in the dark. Waiting for cables mounts cameras and software to cooperate while clouds threaten the only clear skies of the week. Then one day you imagine something bi...
