• 1. Introduction to February (Astronomy & Astrophotography)
• 2. Solar System Observing & Imaging in February 2022
• 3. Other Important Solar System & Astronomy Events in February 2022
• 4. Top Astronomy Gear Recommendations for February 2022
• 5. Deep Sky Objects (Nebulae, Galaxies, Clusters)

1. Introduction to February (Astronomy & Astrophotography)

Welcome to February - the month that asks you to pack 31 days into 28. While the month may be short, there is no shortage of interesting astronomical events and opportunities to capture the cosmos throughout the month! To help prioritize your astronomical observing and imaging sessions, we’ve put together an overview of this month’s highlights to get you out under clear skies and looking up at the cosmos! Gear recommendations and highlights from the astronomy community are included to give you a good idea of the tools needed (or not

• 1. Overview
• 2. Barlow Lens Basics
• 3. Barlow Lenses - A Closer Look
• 4. Telecentric Focal Extenders and PowerMates
• 5. Other Considerations
• 6. Summary
• Appendix

1. Overview

A focal extender, sometimes called Barlow lens, increases the effective focal length of a telescope and therefore increases the magnification of a given eyepiece used with that telescope. As a diverging lens, a focal extender works by reducing the angle of convergence of light from the objective lens of a telescope before the light enters the eyepiece (see Figure 2), making it seem as if the light was coming from an objective with a longer focal length and slower focal ratio. For visual observation, this longer effective focal length increases the magnification achieved by a given eyepiece and it means that each

Overview

Celestron makes three accessory modules that enhance and extend the capability of many of their computerized go-to telescope mounts. These are the StarSense Autoalign Module, the SkyPortal WiFi Module and the SkySync GPS module. Sorting out what each of these modules do, and how they work together, can be a little confusing. This short article explains the basic use and connection of these useful astronomical tools.

StarSense Autoalign Module # 94005

Figure 1 - A Celestron StarSense module connected to a CPC telescope

The StarSense Autoalign Module consists of a specialized computer in the form of a hand controller coupled to a wide-field sky camera that work together to automatically align a telescope and mount to the night sky. The camera mounts on top of the telescope, often in place of the telescope’s finder, while the StarSense

The holiday shopping season has arrived again, and it's time to start crossing items off your gift list. If you have an astronomer in your life, Agena AstroProducts makes it easy for you this year to choose a gift with this handy list of useful and interesting astronomy tools and accessories. There's something here for every stargazer, whether a beginner or old pro, visual observer or astrophotographer.

Many of these suggestions, the ones marked with an asterisk (*), are now on sale through the holiday season! And if you still can't find what you're looking for, we have hundreds of astronomy products on sale during our annual holiday event. See more at this link...

Here's our hand-selected list of useful and innovative astronomy products for this holiday season...

1. EYEPIECES

Agena Starguider Dual ED Eyepieces*

Long a favorite of visual observers with nearly any telescope, Agena's