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Sky & Telescope OCTOBER’S ECUPSES SEE STARS & PLANETS IMPROVE YOUR ’ OF THE SUN & MOON p .50 IN BROAD DAYLIGHT p. 36 DSLR IMAGES p.72 THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO ASTRONOMY S&T TEST REPORT: A Versatile 100-mm Refractor p. 62 0 0 Comet Buzzes Mars OCTOBER 2014 How We Discovered the Radio Sun p.30 = • ' • • • . * * ' ' ,* ’ ■ *T-.‘ • ' . 9 Check Out Scopes from Your ' Library p. 66 Visit SkyandTelescope.com Download Our Free SkyWeek App This 4.3° F.o.V. image of Eta Carina (NGC3372) was imaged by Wolfgang Promper using the Tele Vue-NPI 27fli & FLI Proline 1 6803 camera. EASIER IMAGING Tele Vue and Finger Lakes Instrumentation have tackled the frustration of piecemealling together equipment by engineering o u t eomponents to w o r k in a “turn-key” system. The Tele Vue-NP127fli marries its flat-field, f/5.3 optics witli FLI’s Atlas Focuser, Centerline Filter Wheel, and Proline series cameras. The goal, to create a system that sitnply, rigidly, and squarely locks together and is ready to image. That easy? Wolfgang commented, “re- garding my thoughts it is quite easy, I have used all kinds o f telescopes over the years, different brands and sizes but the Tele Vue-NP127fli was the first one that was perfect out o f the box, without the slightest tweak needed, plus the outstanding sharpness, field correction, and rigidity, to tne it is a perfect instrument.” Testing results have been breathtaking. See fór yourself and learn more ab out the unique features of the NP127fli at Tele Vue.com ‘T e le V u e * 32 Elkay Dr., Chester, New York 10918 (845) 469-4551. televue.com f Visionar y Image: M42, M43 . Santa Barbara Instrument Group SBIG Imager: Tony Hallas 150 Castilian Dr., Suite 101, Santa Barbara, CA 93117 ASTRONOMICAL Camera: SBIG STX-16803 <f805) 571-7244 [email protected] www.sbig.com INSTRUMENTS SKY V O L. 128, N O . 4 &TELESCOPE October 2014 On the cover: OBSERVING OCTOBER M31 is slightly 43 In This Section larger than the Milky Way, but 44 October’s Sky at a Glance it doesn’t best our galaxy in 45 Binocular Highlight There’s more to find online @ every way. By Gary Seronik SkyandTelescope.com 46 Planetary Almanac 47 Northern Hemisphere’s Sky TIPS FOR BEGINNERS FEATURES By Fred Schaaf New to astronomy? Here’s everything you need to jump 20 Battle o f the Titans: 48 Sun, Moon & Planets into the fun. COVER The Milky Way vs. By Fred Schaaf STORY A n d r o m e d a SkyandTelescope.com/letsgo The Milky Way and Andromeda 50 Celestial Calendar By Alan MacRobert galaxies vie for Local Group SKY AT A GLANCE Our popular column highlights supremacy. By Michael Rich 56 Exploring the Moon By Charles Wood celestial delights for the upcom- ing week. Also available as an 30 Discovering the Radio Sun 58 Deep-Sky Wonders app — with sky charts included! The wartime discovery of radio By Sue French SkyandTelescope.com/ataglance emissions from the Sun gave birth to the field of solar radio astronomy. S&T TEST REPORT M O N TH LY SKY PODCAST By J. Kelly Smith & David L. Smith 62 S&T Test Report Listen as we guide you through By Alan Dyer this month’s celestial sights. 36 Stars & Planets SkyandTelescope.com/podcasts ALSO IN THISISSUE in Broad Daylight You don’t need to stop observing 6 Spectrum By Robert Naeye ONLINE STORE just because the Sun is above the Shop our catalog for Moon horizon. By Chris Dalla Piazza 8 Letters globes, sky atlases, and more. shopatsky.com !0 75, 50 & 25 Years Ago 66 Check Out This Telescope! By Roger W. Sinnott An innovative program allows INTERACTIVE SKY CHART newcomers of all ages to borrow 12 News Notes Find out what the sky looks like compact, high-quality reflectors from for your time and place. 42 New Product Showcase public libraries. By John Jardine Goss skychart.SkyandTelescope.com 70 Telescope Workshop 72 Eliminating Band By Gary Seronik ASTROPHOTO GALLERY & Line Noise Enjoy readers’ best images and 76 G allery Here’s a technique that removes upload your own. You can also common artifacts from DSLR and 86 Focal Point submit your images for con- CCD images. By Michael Unsold By Bert Probst sideration for the magazine’s Gallery section. SKY & TELESCOPE (ISSN 0037-6604) is published monthly by Sky & Telescope Media, LLC, 90 Sherman St., Cambridge, MA 02140­ SkyandTelescope.com/gallery 3264, U S A . Phone: 800-253-0245 (cu sto m e r service/subscriptions), 888-253-0230 (p ro d uct orders), 617-864-7360 (all o ther calls). Fax: 617-864-6117. 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From its introduction in 1992, the LX200 has always been a product for which all others compared to. In 2014, Smart Mount™ & Smart Drive™ constantly refines pointing accuracy each time an object is centered and provides Permanent the LX200 ACF still meets this criterion. Superb optical Periodic Error Correction (PPEC). performance coupled with time proven computerized pointing Solid Fork Mount with Heavy Duty 5.75” Gears provide smooth and tracking has made the LX200 ACF series a best-seller in movements with low periodic error for long exposure astrophotography. the high-performance telescope eláss. AutoStar® II controller puts 145,000 objects at your fingertips with the fastest GOTO performance available. OPT Tetescopes B & H Photo Telescopes.com Woodland Hills Adorama Optics Plánét High Point Scientific Astronomics Canada • Khan Scopes 800.483.6287 800.482.8143 800.303.5873 888.427.8766 800.223.2500 800.504.5897 800.266.9590 800.422.7876 800.580.7160 www.optcorp.comwww.bhphotovideo.comwww.telescopes.comwww.telescopes.netwww.adorama.comwww.opticsplanet.comwww.highpointscientific.comwww.astronomics.comwww.khanscope.com fjMEADE INSTRUM ENTS www.meade.com Róbert Naeye Foundedin 1941 by Charles A. Federer, Jr. Spectrum and Helen Spence Federer SKY The Essential Guide & TELESCOPE to Astronomy EDITORIAL Editor in Chief Robert Naeye Senior Editor Alan M. MacRobert Associate Editor Tony Flanders Imaging Editor Sean Walker Assistant Editor Camille M. Carlisle Passing the Torch Web Editor Monica Young Editor Emeritus Richard Tresch Fienberg Senior Contributing Editors J. Kelly Beatty, Roger W. Sinnott W h e n i a s s u m e d the mantle of S&T editor in chief in June 2008, Contributing Editors Jim Bell, Trudy Bell, John E. Bortle, Greg Bryant, in the back of my mind I figured my run would last about 5 to 7 years Paul Deans, Thomas A. Dobbins, David W. Dunham, Alan Dyer, Tom Field, Ted Forte, Sue French, Steve Gottlieb, David Grinspoon, Paul J. before I ’d burn out and turn to other things. I had it just about right. As Heafner, Ken Hewitt-White, Johnny Horne, E. C. Krupp, Emily Lakdawalla, Jonathan McDowell, Rod Mollise, Donald W. Olson, Joe Rao, Dean I write these words in late July, a little more than 6 years after my start, I Regas, Fred Schaaf, Govert Schilling, Gary Seronik, William Sheehan, have informed my colleagues of my intention to move on, and our parent Mike Simmons, Alan Whitman, Charles A. Wood, Robert Zimmerman company, F+W, is now looking for a new person to grab the torch and Contributing Photographers P. K. Chen, Akira Fujii, Robert Gendler, Babak Tafreshi carry it forward. I ’ll stay on until a replacement is on board, and I look ART & DESIGN forward to contributing in various ways after my departure. Design Director Patrícia Gillis-Coppola Illustration Director Gregg Dinderman I’ll be leaving S&T with a heavy heart, but with my head held high. Illustrator Leah Tiscione I’ve enjoyed many wonderful moments during this 6-year tenure: PUBLISHING AND MARKETING meeting countless S&T readers at star parties and trade shows, putting AdvertisingSales Director Peter D. Hardy, Jr. Advertising Services Manager Lester J. Stockman out a magazine and website that people love, and working with a IT Manager Denise Donnarumma Consumer Marketing Joseph Izzo dedicated bunch of people. I can’t thank my fellow editors and art F+W, A CONTENT + ECOMMERCE COMPANY colleagues enough for their tremendous effort and support. As senior Chairman & CEO David Nussbaum editor Alan MacRobert likes to say, “I have one of the few good jobs left CFO & COO James Ogle President David Blansfield in America. I get to work in a no-jerk* zone.” (*Not Alan’s original word.) Chief Digital Officer Chad Phelps VP / E-Commerce Lucas Hilbert I can’t thank all of our contributors enough. I thank Stephen Kent and Senior VP/ Operations Phil Graham Joel Toner of New Track Media for giving me this opportunity. And most VP Communications Stacie Berger Director o f Magazine Marketing & Fulfillment Mark Fleetwood of all, I thank all of you loyal readers for your long-standing support! Editorial Correspondence: Sky & Telescope, 90 Sherman St., Cam­ Sometimes people w ill ask me at astronomy events how S&T is bridge, M A 02140-3264, U S A .
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