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Links (many are being added at this time)

 

Truss Telescopes (16" or larger)

Starmaster Telescopes - Optically excellent telescopes.  Rick offers very fast telescopes (f/3.6 and f/3.3) along with the standard f/4.0 to f/4.3.  Zambuto and Lockwood are the primary mirror makers for these telescopes.  I own a 30" Starmaster.  Rick has passed recently.

Obsession Telescopes - Very well made telescopes.  If you want one quick, this is the way to go.  Take a look at the UC model, very nice and an 18" UC will fit in the smallest trunk.  The original commercial truss telescope.

StarStructure Telescopes - incredible all aluminum "fast" telescopes.  Mainly Zambuto and Kennedy mirrors.  Several of my observing friends uses StarStructures, namely; Steve Gottlieb, Alan Agruwal and Bob Douglas

Spica Eyes Telescopes - equally incredible all metal "fast" telescopes.  Primary mirrors by Lightholder, Kennedy and Lockwood.

Teeter Telescopes - Excellent custom truss telescopes, specialize in long focal length planet killer Newtonions


 

Large Primary Mirrors.
When I started this website, there were more than 10 premium mirror makers and now we are down to just a few...

Zambuto Optical

Lockwood Optics

Pegasus Optics - The optician John Hall has passed in 2015.

Kennedy Optics

Lightholder Optics


Recommended Eyepieces

Widefield eyepieces

Televue Ethos

Televue Delos

Pentax XW

 

Narrow field eyepieces

Zeiss ZAO-II

Takahashi LE

Baader Genuine orthoscopics - Apparently the same source as the UO HD orthos, these are very hard to find but...

Baader Classic orthoscopics - They claim that the coatings is better than the BGO and at a price of $74!  Pretty good.

TMB Supermonocentric

 

Digital Sky Surveys and Professional Resources

DSS - POSS Digital Sky Survey

SDSS - Sloan Digital Sky Survey with new DR10 data release

NED - NASA Extragalactic Database

SIMBAD - SIMBAD astronomical database

HyperLeda - Data for the Physics of Galaxies


Deep Sky Resources

TAC Observers (The Astronomy Connection)

Adventures of Deep Space by Steve Gottlieb, Mark Wagner, et al

Steve Gottlieb's NGC/IC Observing Notes - This is the most complete contemporary observing notes observed by one of the best observers on this planet.

Paul Alsing's collection of good stuff

Ray Cash's Deep Sky Page


Deep Sky Resources

Deep Sky-Visuall - German observer, Uwe Glahn

Arp Peculiar Galaxies by Dennis Webb

Visual Deep Sky Observing - Faith Jordan (UK)

Astro-Visuall - German Deep Sky website

Telescope and Deep Sky - Reiner Vogel

NGC-IC Project

Sky-Map.Org

The Webb Deep Sky Society

Backyard Astronomy - Alan Dyer and Terence Dickinson

Clear Skies Observing Guides - Victor van Wulfen's observing guides.

 

Deep Sky sketches

Bertrand Laville Deep Sky Drawings

Uwe Glahn - Deepsky-visuell

Jeremy Perez - Belt of Venus


 

Astronomy Vendors and Equipment

Astronomics - sponsor of CloudyNights.com

Agena Astro - All sorts of accessories. Good source for various sized eyepiece caps and guards.

Scopestuff - If you need any accessory or gadget, look here first.

Camera Concepts and Telescope Solutions - Traveling store, appears in many star parties

Orion Telescopes

Glatter Collimation Tools - I use the Blug when I arrive at the site too late to use the Autocollimator.  The accuracy is excellent with my f/4 reflector.

Catseye Collimation Tools - The best manual Newtonian tools.  I use the 2" set with a red (soon to be white triangle)

 

Astronomy Forums and Associations

CloudyNights - excellent astronomy forum

Deep Sky Forum - Excellent forum for deep sky hounds

 

Dark Star Parties

Texas Star Party

Oregon Star Party

Nebraska Star Party

Okie-Tex Star Party

Golden State Star Party