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Welcome again to our monthly newsletter with features on exciting celestial events, product reviews, tips & tricks, and a monthly sky calendar. We hope you enjoy it!

• 'Tis the Season to be Jolly. Why?
  Mary Lou Whitehorne explains why there's nowhere to go but up.
     
• Stocking Stuffers
  Often people are puzzled about what to give the amateur astronomer in the family. Not any more!
     
• Buying a Telescope?
  Where to buy, and where not to buy your telescope.
     
• Try a Pair of Binoculars
  Some beginners think of binoculars as a sort of telescope’s poor cousin. Nothing could be further from the truth.
     
• Starry Night® Digital Downloads
  No waiting. No shipping fees. Download right now!
     
• Constellation in Focus: Cetus
  Far from the galactic plane, Cetus represents the gates of the underworld, which happily contains many observable galaxies.
     
• Astrophoto of the Month
  Jeffrey M. Phillips captures last month's Mercury Transit.

They started falling the moment I finished raking leaves in the back yard. Little frozen white stars. Snowflakes. For me, winter arrived this year on the fifth of November. For many folks, the first fall of snow signals the start of winter. But the calendar says otherwise. It says winter officially begins this year at precisely 7:22 p.m. EST on December 21. What’s with that?

The winter solstice, that’s what! It’s a celestial event tied to the yearly orbit of Earth around Sun, and it is a linchpin of our calendar. “Without the practical benefits that astronomy supplied, it might not have been possible to have civilization at all,” says Dr. E. C. Krupp in his book In Search of Ancient Astronomers. He goes on to explain that the calendar is, “the device that permits complex organization of a culture, the device that rules the exchange of goods and services.” This is a powerful statement, but the calendar is a powerful influence on peoples and cultures. And the calendar is driven by the sky, with its daily, monthly and yearly cycles.

The summer and winter solstices are key reference points in our calendar, marking the yearly extremes of the Sun’s changing height in the sky at noon. They serve as predictable markers for the swing of the seasons, neatly dividing the year into two equal halves. They bring a sense of order, place and continuity.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

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It's getting to be the time of the year again when gifts are exchanged. Often people are puzzled about what to give the amateur astronomer in the family. Below is a compilation of items in the Orion wish book, I mean catalog, which I either own myself or wish I did. Some are specialized for certain types of telescopes, but most are useful to all.

This is my own personal selection of the most useful and fun accessories to enhance your viewing pleasure. Following my list of stocking stuffers is a list of special holiday packages that offer discounts on popular items.

Now, here's what you do. Print out this list, and mark on it in bright red marker the items you'd particularly like to receive. Then leave it somewhere casually around the house for others to find. Good luck!

$10 and under

$9.95 #17189
Atlas of the Sky DVD
Enjoy 2-1/2 hours of original movies featuring dramatic visualizations of astronomical objects and phenomena. Experts provide up-to-date info on specific objects and their origins. Movies include Many Moons, Solar Storm, Satellite Spotting, The Light Heavyweights, Messier Marathon, and many more.

$9.95 #04110
Star Target™ Planisphere
I got one of these with my first telescope nearly 50 years ago, and I'm still using it today. It's a simple device which lets you dial in the current date and time and shows you what stars are visible in the sky. Sure you have Starry Night® on your computer, but do you really want to take your computer out into the dewy night?

$9.95 #17228
Starry Night® Screen Saver
Starry Night® Screen Saver takes you on a tour of planets, galaxies and other space exotica. Hitch a ride on a comet as it streaks past amazingly realistic 3D planets. Hop off at Mars for the red dawn; experience Pluto's perpetual twilight. Speed into deep space to witness stars spark into life. Let the subtle sounds help you escape to the boundless possibilities of the universe. And don't forget that you can add your own photo album images or movies to the screen saver.

$9.95 #17208
Starry Night® Constellation Adventure
This is a kid-friendly introduction to the night sky. The kit includes all the tools your future astronaut needs to explore the universe all year 'round. Includes: A 48-page illustrated guide to the night sky, a fun Big Dipper Clock, a red LED stargazing flashlight, and adhesive glow-in-the-dark stars to decorate a room with.

$9.95 #17176
Eyes on Mars DVD
Join the adventure as the Rovers romp on the Red Planet. This exciting documentary focuses on the quest to fully understand the mysteries of Mars.

$9.95 #17169
Wheels on Mars DVD
Close encounters with the Rovers and the scientists who sent them. Top experts from NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and Cornell University share what the Rovers found and why it matters so deeply. A companion to the award-winning Eyes on Mars DVD.

$10 to $20

$14.95 #04150
DeepMap™ Folding Star Chart
Everyone needs a star map, and this is an inexpensive and very handy one to have. Stick it in your accessory case, and you'll never be at a loss for objects to look for and how to find them.

$16.95 up #04203
FlexiShield™ Dew Cap
For Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov-Cassegrain owners only. That big corrector plate on the front of your scope is a magnet for dew. One of these dew caps will slow down the formation of dew, and yet takes up almost no space.

$17.95 #05755
RedBeam II™ LED Flashlite
Every astronomer needs a red flashlight to protect his night vision, and this is the nicest one I know. Hang it around your neck to light your footsteps in the dark, and you'll never lose it. The adjustable red LEDs throw a nice gentle glow on your charts, and the battery seems to last forever.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

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When you are ready to buy a telescope, purchase from a reputable company with excellent customer service.

Okay, we’re biased, but we think Orion® Telescopes and Binoculars will be your best and safest one-stop astronomy shopping center. They have legendary customer service and technical support, and a range of products from beginner to expert.

To make your choice easier, Orion® Telescopes and Binoculars has an online Product Selection Wizard that will ask you basic questions and provide you with a list of telescopes suitable for your particular needs.

• Product Selection Wizard

Another option is to visit a telescope dealer in person. There are some great telescope stores out there, and if you find a good one close to you, it will be an excellent source of advice and equipment. Get in touch with your local Astronomy club for a recommendation.

Whatever you do, avoid buying a telescope from any store whose primary business is not astronomy. Avoid department stores, discount stores, nature stores, and the like. Also avoid online auction sites unless you really know what you're doing.

Good luck, happy shopping, and clear skies!

Starry Night® Team

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Binoculars are one of the most useful tools in an amateur astronomer’s arsenal. They provide spectacular wide field views of the Milky Way and large deep sky objects like the Pleiades star cluster, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Double Star Cluster in Perseus. For the telescopic observer, they are the exploration tools to use to plan the path through the stars when you are starhopping to a faint object. Never leave home without them!

The most useful binoculars are those with relatively low magnification, such as 7x50 and 10x50. The first number is the magnification; the second the diameter of the objectives in millimeters. These can be hand held by most people and, under a dark sky, can provide hours of observing enjoyment.

There are also larger binoculars which are more specialized instruments. These generally need to be mounted on a tripod to be steady enough for use. Binoculars as large as 25x100 (equivalent to two 4” refractors!) are now available at very reasonable prices.

Geoff Gaherty
Geoff has been a life-long telescope addict, and is active in many areas of visual observation; he is a moderator of the Yahoo "Talking Telescopes" group.

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Download the Universe to your desktop quickly and easily!

The new and improved Starry Night® Digital Download Version 6 is the best and fastest way to see spectacular celestial sights all year round.

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• Digital Download Version 6 Core

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Already own Digital Download version 5?
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For example, if you have previously purchased the SkyGuide Data Module, there’s no need to purchase the Version 6 SkyGuide Data Module. The Data Module will be automatically copied when you install he Digital Download Version 6 Core Application Upgrade.

Remember, you must have the Version 6 Core Application or the Version 6 Core Application Upgrade in order for the Version 6 Data Modules to work.

• Digital Download Upgrade

Upgrade for only $10 — then choose the data modules you want to add!

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Lying far from the galactic plane (which contains so much obscuring matter) Cetus, representing the gates of the underworld, is home to many observable galaxies.

M77 is a 9th Magnitude spiral galaxy, one of the first recognized spiral galaxies, and the closest and brightest of Seyfert galaxies (their central regions having rather bright nuclei whose light output varies over time and atypical spectra with unusual emission lines).

NGC 936 a faint galaxy best viewed with averted vision.

NGC 246 a large and reasonably bright planetary nebula (the last breath of a dying star) with an irregular "surface texture".

While technically in the constellation Sculptor, NGC 253, the Sculptor Galaxy, is a remarkable spiral galaxy with an unusually high rate of star formation. It's the brightest member of the Sculptor group, a group of galaxies centered around the south galactic pole. A small telescope reveals a long bright haze intermingled with brighter regions and dark lanes. Due to its high surface brightness it takes magnification quite well.

Sean O'Dwyer
Starry Night® Times Editor

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November 08, 2006 Mercury Transit by Jeffrey M. Phillips

Details: Imaged with a Celestron NexImage through a generic short tube 80 (80mm f/5 achromat) using an Orion solar filter, piggybacked on a LX200 Classic. Approx. 350/500 frames stacked in Keith's Image Stacker, with final processing in Adobe Photoshop CS2.

PRIZES AND RULES:

We would like to invite all Starry Night® users to send their quality astronomy photographs to be considered for use in our monthly newsletter.

• Featured submissions (best of month) will receive a prize of $75 USD.

Please read the following guidelines and see the submission e-mail address below.

• Format: Digital images in either JPG, GIF or TIFF format.
• Size: 700 pixels wide maximum.
• File size should be less than 2 MB.
• Include a caption: Your full name, location where photo was taken and any interesting details regarding your photo or how you took it. Please be brief.
• Important notes: We may edit captions for clarity and brevity. We reserve the right to not use submissions. In submitting your image or images to Imaginova, you agree to allow us to publish them in all media -- on the Web or otherwise -- now and in the future. We'll credit you, of course. Most important, you'll have the satisfaction of sharing your experience with the world!
• Send images, following the above guidelines, to photo@starrynight.com (by sending an image you agree to the above terms, including Imaginova’s right to publish your photos). Please do not send .ZIP files as they will not reach us.

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