Author Archives: Jim West

Dear Fellow Astronomer,Spring is (finally) upon us and although the cold weather didn’t necessarily stop us from going outside, the nicer weather is sure to entice more of us out under clear skies. A must-have resource for any of us (beginners, experts, and fair-weather astronomers alike), is a red light. Texas Star Party upper field, 2009.. Ron Ronhaar and Todd Hargis Ideally, visual astronomers would work without any light source – it takes time for the human eye to adapt to darkness. Fully dark-adapted eyes are much more likely to make your observing session a success, particularly if you’re searching for dimmer objects with averted vision. But even on the most organized observing nights, it can be useful to have a little bit of light assistance when changing eyepieces and filters, or thumbing through a sky atlas in search of an unexpected target. In these situations-which should be infrequent to best preserve your dark adaption – only a dim, red light should be used.Continue reading “Red Lights for Astronomy – Skilight Mini”

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