Looking Back and Remembrances of 2022

It’s time for our yearly look back at which Tele Vue blog posts our readers showed most interest in based on page views. Presented in no particular order, except the last one, here are the top-10 blog posts grouped by category.

Our top-10 blog posts were heavy on product information. Night Vision: “How-To” Video Shorts (February 11th) revealed the versatility of the TNVC PVS-14 night vision monocular system through short videos. Videos include how to do hand-held, deep-sky, unit power, sky sweeping; telescope eyepiece mounting, and smartphone imaging. This blog is a must-see for anyone curious as to how night vision can be added to your astronomy tool-kit. Watch Your Back Focus! (September 21st) is a primer on determining the distance from your corrector or reducer / flattener to camera sensor. It turned out not to be so simple in some cases. Using our Imaging System accessories in the examples, we discuss spacers, thread converters, vignetting, accessory path length (such as filter wheels and off-axis guiders), the importance of looking over the camera manual completely, and the often ignored impact of filters on the spacing.

Telescope vs. Super-Telephoto Lens for Imaging? (July 29th) was our 2nd-most popular blog of the year. We wrote that, “The catalyst for this blog was a forum query about purchasing a super-telephoto lens versus a telescope for deep-sky astrophotography.” Choosing one over the other has repercussions for what imagers and accessories you can use. Our final word was that both types of lenses have their uses in astrophotography. 2022 Tele Vue Product Anniversaries (January 20th) was a look into Tele Vue’s deep past and the block-buster movies that were in the theatre in those years. From a 6.1″, f/1.8 projection lens in 1977 (the year Star Wars premiered) to the last group of DeLite eyepieces released in 2017 (matching Star Wars: The Last Jedi) forty years of Tele Vue hardware was bookended by forty years of Star Wars movies.

Astronomical hardware is of no use without astronomical targets and our posting on objects to see did well. Galaxy Season with Tele Vue! (April 27th) is a celebration of the spring-time alignment of galaxies in the sky from early March to mid-May. These nights are still long and the band of our Milky Way is low in the sky. This fortuitous alignment leaves the galaxies that inhabit the skies over those nights in prime viewing position. 2022 Messier Marathon (February 23rd) highlights the yearly observing challenge of sighting all the Messier objects in one evening. The best night for this is the new Moon closest to the first day of Spring. Success also depends on your latitude, observing sequence, and observing gear.

The Allure of the Moon (August 8th) explores the sights of our nearest astronomical neighbor. 2022 Sky Events (January 28th) was our yearly look at the goings-on in the celestial sphere with observing and imaging advice.

We featured your images and words on our blog posts throughout the year. In our Your Tele Vue Social Media Posts (February 16th) blog we featured author and photographer Mark Kilner’s tweet calling the Tele Vue-60 APO (mobile) was the “Swiss Army knife of telescopes” with photos to prove it. In that thread, he included a link to NASA Solar System Ambassador Ed Ting’s YouTube review of the scope where Ed commented that it would be the one scope to choose when escaping from the Zombie Apocalypse. Our social media walls or photo galleries from Flickr, AstroBin, SmugMug, YouTube, and Instagram also featured images made with Tele Vue gear. Remember to #televue and the product name if you want your images to be found by us and other Tele Vue users. NP101is: Imaging the Skies over Cambridge (May 27th) showcased Steve Greaves’ Tele Vue-NP101is APO (mobile) images on AstroBin. We also learned Steve’s recipe for collecting data and processing with broad and narrowband filters. NP127is: Image of the Day! (October 21st) showcases Nicola Beltraminelli’s astro-imaging work with the Tele Vue-NP127is APO  (mobile) that first came to our attention when he won the AstroBin Image of the Day for October 1st.

Remembering Paul Dellechiaie (June 15th) is our most difficult remembrance of the past year. As an employee of 42-years, Paul was part of the company for most of its history and was the lead designer of the Ethos, Delos, and DeLite eyepieces. It is fitting that his memorial blog post was by far the most read and commented-on post of the year.