As a kid I would pour over maps of the night skies, and each night I would look out of the window of our suburban Long Island home, taking in the night sky. There were frequent trips to local planetariums and one birthday a typical department store telescope came my way. It was hardly up to the task but for my pre-teen eyes, it was the Hubble and Mt. Palomar all wrapped up in one lovely package.

Fast forward to my adult years. A 4.5 inch Meade GoTo reflector – a gift from my wife on our first anniversary – the mount gutted and replaced by a utilitarian German Equitorial, is my nightime companion. And now it’s easier to stand there in the cold dark night because I have the company of my children who are more than delighted to stay up a little bit later for a quick view of Saturn or the Orion Nebula in Daddy’s telescope.

The blog is for the backyard stargazer. Whether you are in the middle of a city or the middle of nowhere, you can always look up at night and see something. I’ll have the usual how-tos and hopefully some video demonstrations on how to get yourself up and running. I’ll put up weekly star charts and news of what’s up in the night sky. Most of all this blog will be interactive. I want to hear from you about what you want to learn.

In the meantime, may your skies be dark and the neighbors turn off the porch light.