Big Bend National Park - Sotol Vista Overlook Stay tuned for posts on equipment, observing reports, trips and more. December 2025 West Texas Observing Trip - it happened! Working on High quality photos Coming December 2026 West Texas Observing Trip Article - Is Starhopping Still Relevant in the Age of Computerized Mounts? Observing Report - Takahashi FSQ-85ED Review - Baader Planetarium 2″ 90° Astro Amici-Prism Diagonal Review - Baader Planetarium 2″ 90° Clicklock Dielectric

Melotte 25 - The Hyades Open Star Cluster [Image Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI]. Facts Telescope: Takahashi FCT-76 Location: Cedar Park, Texas, USA Date: 3/20/2001 Time: 1am - 3am Seeing: 5 - 8 Sky Transparency: 9 Limiting Magnitude: ~ 5 Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous Background On nights when the sky transparency and limiting magnitude are high, I like to do wide-field observing. Tonight was beautifully clear - allowing my small refractor to go "deeper" than would normally b

The Frank N. Bash Visitor Center at the McDonald Observatory [Image Credit: The University of Texas at Austin/McDonald Observatory]. Facts Telescope: Sky Designs 24" Dob f/4 Location: McDonald Observatory, Ft. Davis, Texas, USA Date: 6/08/2001 Time: 11pm - 1am Seeing: 8 Sky Transparency: 5 Limiting Magnitude: ~ 3.5 Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous Background Just a few days from a Full Moon, I had the unique opportunity of using a 24" Dob at the McDonald Observatory's Visi