Backyard Voyager: The Amateur Astronomer
Welcome to Backyard Voyager
Welcome to my site and keep checking back. It is the purpose of Backyard Voyager to serve as a learning resource for amateur astronomers and astrophotographers of all levels of expertise. Never static, is an information source continually in progress. New information-- articles and tutorials on telescope equipment, reviews, astrophotography lessons, software information, observation tips, links and other information will be added weekly.
Our goal is to provide astronomy and astrophotography information for newcomers to the hobby, people who are contemplating equipment purchases but are confused by the flood of online ads and by the marketing hype that in so many cases is misleading. We hope to bring astronomical expectations back down to earth, so to speak. There is nothing more disappointing than for a child (or adult, for that matter) to look through an eyepiece for the first time, expecting the glorious color of Hubble-like images.
We try to steer people toward more realistic expectations. The Eyepiece Views page is a good example of this. On this page are several images, created in Adobe Photoshop, that try to duplicate what you might see at the eyepiece of a telescope of moderate aperture.
For those interested in the history of telescopes, there is a new site devoted to just that. There are articles about the inventors of various optical configurations and manufacturers whose businesses had an impact on astronomy. The site is called, straightforwardly enough, Telescopes in History.
The NGC by Constellation page is an example of information intended for more experienced astronomers. It provides realistic target lists for backyard astronomers with telescopes of moderate aperture who view from less than ideal conditions, particularly from urban and suburban locations with considerable light pollution. If you can't see the Milky Way or very much of the Little Dipper, those pages are for you.
As the site grows, there will be more and more information on astrophotography. Asian manufacturers have made the necessary equipment accessible, where only five years ago CCD imaging was available only to the most affluent amateurs, or to government subsidized observatories.
Tips on taking planetary images can be found in the astrophotography section.