What You’ll See
Discover a New Way to Explore the Night Sky
As longtime residents of Sedona, we’ve noticed that a lot of our town’s visitors ask us, “What is there to do in Sedona at night?” Most of our shops and activities close after sunset. In our opinion, the best night time activity in Sedona is exploring the celestial wonders hidden in our beautiful dark night sky.
Objects Best Seen in an Eyepiece
While electronically assisted astronomy is a potent tool for revealing faint objects like nebulae and galaxies, it isn’t suitable for every type of object. We use our high end eyepieces to observe these kinds of objects. We don’t use stock images to represent these objects on this page. Most images are not representative of what can be seen with the eye through a telescope eyepiece, particularly those taken from spacecraft like the Cassini orbiter!
- The Moon
- Venus
- Mars
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Double stars like Albireo and Mizar
Naked Eye Objects
Some celestial objects are best seen without the use of a telescope. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t truly spectacular to see. We regularly observe the follow
- The Milky Way
- Artificial satellites
- ISS passes
- The constellations (including the Zodiac)
Targets Best Revealed by Video Astronomy
The following targets all fall under the category of “deep sky objects” (abbreviated as DSOs by astronomers). Deep sky objects are objects that are not individual stars or Solar System objects like the Moon, planets, asteroids, or comets. Most of these objects consist of vast numbers of stars or clouds of gas and dust. Unfortunately, many of these objects are very faint and difficult to observe, but our electronically assisted telescopes can reveal details you’ll never see in the legacy equipment used by most astronomers!
Star Clusters
Star clusters are groups of stars that formed together from the same cloud of gas and dust. There are two main types:
- Open Clusters: These are loose, irregularly shaped groups of young stars, often found in the arms of spiral galaxies. The Pleiades is a famous example.
- Globular Clusters: These are dense, spherical groups of older stars, tightly bound by gravity. They orbit the core of galaxies, with M13 in Hercules being a prime example.
Through the Eyepiece: Open clusters appear as scattered, sparkling stars, while globular clusters look like a compact, glowing ball of light. You’ll see many individual stars, but the finer details are often subtle.
With EAA: Using EAA, the experience is greatly enhanced. Open clusters reveal more stars in vivid color, and globular clusters show distinct, densely packed stars at their core, with intricate details not visible to the naked eye.
Nebulae
Nebulae are vast clouds of gas and dust in space, often acting as stellar nurseries where new stars form. There are several types:
- Emission Nebulae: These glow brightly due to the ionization of gases, such as the famous Orion Nebula (M42).
- Reflection Nebulae: These do not emit light but reflect nearby starlight, like the Pleiades Nebula.
- Planetary Nebulae: These are shells of gas ejected by dying stars, with the Ring Nebula (M57) being a well-known example.
Through the Eyepiece: Nebulae typically appear as faint, misty clouds. Emission nebulae may show some structure, while reflection and planetary nebulae often appear as soft, glowing patches with little color.
With EAA: EAA dramatically enhances the experience, revealing vivid colors and complex structures. Emission nebulae show rich reds and purples, while planetary nebulae display intricate shapes and color gradients, making their fine details more apparent.
Galaxies
Galaxies are enormous systems of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter, bound by gravity. There are several types:
- Spiral Galaxies: These have a central bulge with arms that spiral outward, like the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).
- Elliptical Galaxies: These are rounder, with a more uniform appearance, containing older stars, like M87.
- Irregular Galaxies: These lack a defined shape and often result from galactic collisions, such as the Magellanic Clouds.
Through the Eyepiece: Galaxies usually appear as faint smudges of light. With a good telescope, spiral galaxies may show a hint of their structure, while elliptical galaxies look like soft, featureless glows.
With EAA: EAA brings galaxies to life. Spiral arms, dust lanes, and bright cores become more defined, and subtle details in structure and color emerge, making the vastness and beauty of these distant systems much clearer.
