Well, the 2019 Night Visions calendar is here – hot off the press, so to speak, and available for purchase.

I’m really excited about this year’s calendar.  Each year I’ve made it a little better, mostly by improving my astrophotography skills.  But this year is a giant leap for AP-kind because all 13 images in this edition were captured at the remote observatory I’ve been using in Australia, which brings numerous advantages.  Most importantly, we get to see deep-space objects that are only visible from the southern hemisphere.  In fact, the great majority of the included targets are never visible from around 45 degrees north latitude, where I live.  Next, the sky conditions at the Australian observatory are much better than here – both darker and more stable air.  Lastly, the equipment there (which I effectively “rent”) is much better than what I own.  All together, the images in this edition of Night Visions are sharper, more detailed, and mostly of totally “new” targets.

In addition to the subtitle of “Down Under”, I have included Australian holidays in this edition, along with U.S. holidays.  They are annotated as being Australian or U.S. to avoid confusion (we actually have some common holidays, such as Labor Day).  And, of course, the usual sky chart on the back cover shows how the sky looks to the Australian observer.

Astronomical events are still referenced to the North American viewer, since almost all my customers are here, and it would be confusing to show the time and date for events in another part of the world.

In other respects, the 2019 calendar has the same high quality specifications as in previous years.  It is 9 x 12 inches and designed for wall hanging.  There is a full color astrophoto for each month, plus the cover photo shown above.  I did change the “grid” part of the calendar a bit.  In past years I have used a more “artsy” design with relatively light lines and text, but some customers have asked for a design that is easier to read, so I have maximized the size of the grid, used darker lines, and increased the size of the text.

As in the past, the calendar comes with a short document that explains how to use it to observe astronomical events throughout the year.

The 2019 Night Visions calendar is available now for $20 plus postage.