Planetarium on a PC

Get Stellarium one of the best planetarium apps.

http://www.stellarium.org/

Star gazing workshop

A basic introduction to the Night Sky.

How the stars move across the night sky.

Finding your way around the sky.

How to use a Star Map and Skymap Apps. Basic concepts of mapping and units and Conventions used in Astronomy. 

Constellation spotting.

What's the Ecliptic? The Zodiac 

Figure out if the bright object in the sky is a star or a planet.

The All Stars Hit Parade. At zero we have Vega, followed by Arcturus. At magnitude 1 we have..

DIY Wide field Astrophotography.

Using just a D-SLR and kit lens (18-55mm)

and Deep Sky Stacker (free app for Windows)

And the Made in Matheran 

Barn Door Mount 

Star gazer in matheran

Stargazing Basics 3: How to measure distance in sky to find other stars

Stargazing Basics 2: Understanding star magnitude in astronomy

Stargazing Basics 1: Learn how get oriented in the night sky for stargazing

Sky Map I made

Immerse yourself in this #sphere of Sky map - 360º experience

http://spher.es/479620

Star Wheel? Planisphere kya hai?

Every night we can see more than 300 degrees of the night sky. 

Since the Sun moves at 15degrees per hour, so for 2 hours after sunset and 2 hours before sunrise you can't see stars.

so that is 30 degrees (2hours x 15 degrees) after sunset and 30 degrees before sunrise, of the sky sphere when stars aren't star like, Bright. 

So if you see the night sky through out the night you can say you have travelled across galaxies!

A Barn Door Mount for Astrophotography

A Barn Door mount is a simple contraption that compensates for earth's rotation. So your photos have Round stars NOT streaking trails.

Basically it's two pieces of wood that move at the same rate (angular velocity) as the earth but in the opposite direction so the camera (mounted on the top piece of wood) is stationary relative to the stars.

It's such a simple and elegant idea.

1.Take 2 plywood boards of12x18inch.Join the 2 boards with a hinge( see image).
2. Make a hole EXACTLY 11.4INCH AWAY FROM THE HINGE-PIVOT.
3. Fix a 1/4-(tripod plate screw size) NUT thru the hole. Seal it with super glue.
4. Pass a 3" long 1/4 bolt through the nut.
4.5 Acc to mathematics the 1/4 screw will move 1° in 4 complete turns. Earth rotates 1° in about 4mins!!So u have to turn the bolt at 1 rotation per Minute. Which is thr speed of the seconds hand in a clock.
5. To make the turning smooth use a metal piece like a Ruppee coin at the point where the Bolt pushes the board.
6. To make the rotating each n precise, stick a long plastic handle.Make a clock face for you reference.

To make a Motorised Barn Door Mount you need -

1. a Low-RPM motor. Like 5 RPM 

The closer to 1 RPM the better. But remember a little change in the input voltage and you change the "rated" RPM.

I found a 4-5 RPM AC motor from a table fan (was driving the Swing of the main fan.)

The small shining dots (pointed with the screwdriver in the third photo) are the shafts on which a gearbox lowers the RPM of this AC motor. Which I think is around 300RPM

Complete Barn Door Mount.

 

An image of Arcturus, shot using the Barn Door Mount.

Star Gazer at Matheran's Porcupine Point.

Star Gazer at Matheran's Porcupine Point.

Total Exposure: 55minutes
Sub Exposures: x98 @30sec f 3.5 10mm ISO800.