Astro-Blog

Mercury Transit

8th Mai 2026 - Anita Maier

On May 9th, Mercury will transgress the sun, offering us a fascinating sight. Within 7,5 hrs, Mercury, the „dwarf star“, positioned in the vicinity of the sun, will transgress the lower half of the solar disk.

We scheduled something special. We shall provide the opportunity to watch the Mercury transit by live stream provided the weather is good: https://goo.gl/dJFLlF.

We hope you will have a lot of fun.

Svalbard – a box of chocolates.

25th March 2015 - Pedro Pereira

Forrest Gump was right when he said “life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you are going to get” and so is the trip that I took to Svalbard, an archipelago off Norway’s northen coast, just 1000 km away from the North Pole at 78º Northern Latitude. I have been engaged in amateur astronomy since I was 12 y.o. and had the chance to be invited to come to Spitsbergen (Svalbard), the biggest island and the only from the archipelago with permanent human occupation, to watch the Total Solar Eclipse of 20^th March 2015.

I had heard about Svalbard a couple of times before, I had seen a documentary about the Seed Vault, a huge man-made modern Noah’s Ark, to keep and protect millions of seeds from around the world and preserve it for future human generations from things such as a Nuclear Apocalypse (yes you read it right) and guarantee the mankind will have in the future the same biological resources as we have today. Svalbard’s soil is deeply frozen – permafrost - all year around. This makes it the ideal for this kind of projects. But Svalbard is special on its own, although only 2600 people live here there are more than 50 nationalities living here in harmony, scientific stations from a couple dozen countries to study from climate changes, to marine biology or astronomy related subjects like the northern lights. This seemed to be the appropriate place for such an event as the Solar Eclipse. The Solar Eclipse was due to cross Svalbard and Faroe Islands (north of Scotland). Many chose Faroe Islands, as it has a mild climate while Svalbard has an extreme weather with extreme temperatures.

Read More ->

Star of Europe Awards - Best Astrophotography Blog 2015

24th March 2015 - Elisabeth Huang

We are pleased to announce the "Star of Europe Awards - Best Astrophotography Blog 2015" from Astroshop!!

Let's find the best Astrophotography Blog from Europe!

Whether if you are an enthusiastic reader or if you have an own astrophotography blog, everyone can participate for the "Star of Europe Awards"!

For more information, please click to the link below.

Read More ->

[Infographic] The incredible truth about the star of Bethlehem.

5th December 2014 - Harvey Burgess

Sometimes we, as amateur astronomers, find it difficult to see the star of Bethlehem as merely a biblical phenomenon or a miracle. It was a celestial phenomenon and therefore we also want an astronomical explanation.

Click on the teaser below to find out more about the background of the star of Bethlehem:

[Ebook Download] Free Ebook for Astronomy Beginners!

4th December 2014 - Harvey Burgess

Astroshop.eu has today released the free Astronomy Ebook “Telescope 101: An introduction to the world of telescopes” by author and amateur astronomer Marcus Schenk. In 11 chapters and 67 pages Schenk guides us into the world of telescopes and provides some expert advice for beginners.

Schenk shows us the advantages and disadvantages of different telescope designs, illustrates various components and explains optical aberrations. We are sure that it will be useful for you, even if you have just a passing interest in astronomy!

Top 25 Best Stargazing Spots in the UK

26th November 2014 - Harvey Burgess

Do you live in the UK? Have you ever thought about going stargazing? Well then this list is made for you! Here we present the 25 best places in Britain to look at the stars, either with the naked eye or with some equipment. We hope you enjoy it!

ZWO ASI 120MC Camera review

06th November 2014 - Carlos Malagón

Yesterday the conditions were horrible. Transparency was perfect but with very bad seeing. The cold front is noted. The moon, 95% illuminated, makes no effort to help. Nevertheless, we must work in all circumstances in order to see the real performance of products in all those less favorable situations.

Today´s camera to be tested is ZWO ASI 120 mc with a Bayer RGB matrix. A pretty famous camera among planetary imagers enthusiasts.

The software used was the one included in the cd rom of the camera along with the drivers, Fire Capture.

Because the moon phase does not help much, we have approach the terminator and made a photo in Oceanus Procellarum area.

[Ebook Download] Astronomy Beginner's Guide

20th October 2014, Harvey Burgess

Free Download Would you like to get involved in astronomy, but you still feel a little unsure? Are you striving to become an expert, but you´re only just starting out? Are you looking for advice about observations, equipment to choose and about astrophotography? Astroshop proudly presents this list of tips for beginners.

29 useful pieces of advice from some of the best astro-amateurs around (in countries such as Italy, France and Spain) who, with their experience, will guide you into the fascinating world of astronomy.

We would like to say an enormous thank you to those who have already contributed to this guide, obviously we could not have done this without them. This Guide is a *WORK IN PROGRESS* and we are always open for further contributions.

Enjoy!

[Infographic] Infographic: understand lunar eclipses

26th September 2014, Guy-André Pierre-Nicolas

Maybe at some point of your life, you already looked up to the sky and contemplated a red moon. Sometimes called blood moon, this spectacle of nature is fascinating people of all ages. Some ones see in this phaenomenon a divine sign, others simply consider it as a romantic scene, and others look at it with scientific curiosity - like us. Let’s learn more about the why and how eclipses occur, and how to observe and photograph them in the best conditions with this explanatory infographic.