Introduction

Admiring the wonders of the night sky objects...

The view of the southern sky as seen from Purwakarta, West Java, note the southern cross and other brilliant stars.

I initiated this blog on Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 08.36am. The objective is primarily to record my observation of the night sky objects, but also to present anything related to astronomy in general. I am the admirer of night sky objects since I was a childhood. I named my blog Observatori Al Sufi after a Persian astronomer Abdurrahman Al Sufi. I also created a Page in Facebook with the same name (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Observatori-Al-Sufi/175506452529463).

Al Sufi (Abdurrahman Al Sufi or known in the west as Azophi) is a Persian astronomer, he was born on December 7, 903 in Rey, Iran. The lunar crater Azophi and the minor planet 12621 Alsufi are named after him. Al-Sufi published his famous Book of Fixed Stars in 964, describing much of his work, both in textual descriptions and pictures. Al Sufi is one of the famous nine Muslim astronomers. His name implies that he was a Sufi Muslim. He lived at the court of Emir Adud ad-Daula in Isfahan, Persia, and worked on translating and expanding Greek astronomical works, especially the Almagest of Ptolemy.

 He contributed several corrections to Ptolemy's star list and did his own brightness and magnitude estimates which frequently deviated from those in Ptolemy's work.

He was a major translator into Arabic of the Hellenistic astronomy that had been centred in Alexandria, the first to attempt to relate the Greek with the traditional Arabic star names and constellations, which were completely unrelated and overlapped in complicated ways. He identified the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is visible from Yemen, though not from Isfahan; it was not seen by Europeans until Magellan's voyage in the 16th century. He also made the earliest recorded observation of the Andromeda Galaxy in 964 AD; describing it as a "small cloud". These were the first galaxies other than the Milky Way to be observed from Earth. (Wikipedia).

Inspiring books

“The Universe”, a LIFE Natural Library Publication (1964), is the first book that triggered my interest in Astronomy. I was 24 when I purchased this book in 1973 from a bookstore in Bandung. The book revealed everything about astronomy, from myths and misconception into modern knowledge and most recent development in the knowledge of universe. 

My favorite picture in this book is an artist impression of Saturn as seen from the surface of Mimas, the innermost satellite of Saturn (page 75). Mimas, as it is said, could serve as a space station from which to observe the huge planet, only 115,000 miles away.   

The "must have" book for amateur astronomer

Later on I subscribed Astronomy magazine. I have subscribed this magazine from 1990 to 1997/98. I also bought a number of books related to astronomy, among others are: Stars and Galaxies, Astronomy’s Guide to Exploring the Cosmos, David J. Eicher, editor, 1992; The Moon, an observing guide for backyard telescopes by Michael Kitt, 1991; The Guide to Amateur Astronomy by Jack Newton & Phillip Teece, 1988; Comets, a chronological history of observation, science, myth, and folklore by Donald K. Yeomans, 1991 (I have author’s signature of this book); Beyond the Solar System, 100 Best Deep-Sky Objects for Amateur Astronomers by David J. Eicher, 1992; Amateur Astronomy by David J. Eicher, 1993; The New Cosmos, the Astronomy of Our Galaxy and Beyond, from Astronomy Magazine, 1992; Digital Astrophotography by Stefan Seip, 2006; Stars and Planets, Peterson Field Guides by Jay M. Pasachoff/Donald H. Menzel, 1992; Space, a Prentice Hall Illustrated Dictionary, 1992. 

In addition, my growing interest in astrophysics had led me purchasing the following books: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawkings; The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics, edited by Timothy Ferris; The First Three Minutes by Steven Weinberg and a few others. I am now subscribing online magazine from Sky and Telescope.

My subscription

I am subscribing Sky & Telescope magazine in 2007 then Astronomy magazine in 2014. I also just subscribed (in 2016) EarthSky (earthsky.org).  

My gadgets

My first telescope is a 3-in Tasco I bought on March 23, 1993 with the price of Rp 750,000 (about US$ 80 in today’s price). 

With this simple scope I was able to explore moon surface, but I could only capture Saturn with its ring once, with great difficulty. This scope has been retired now and replaced by a C6 NGT from Celestron. 

Celestron C6 NGT (left) and William Optics Megrez 72 (right)

I also own a 7 x 50 binocular from William Optics. I had Megrez 72 but I sold it out.  With these gadgets I have been enjoying plenty of night sky objects for the last few years.   

My first camera was a pocket camera Olympus back in 1980s which I sold to a friend. I then had an SLR, Olympus OM10, replacing the pocket camera. This camera lasted for more than 20 years before it was again retired. My first new DSLR was Nikon D40X but unfortunately stolen. After long years, I was able to own Nikon D90, and it is now replaced with D7000.

Inspiring videos

Admiring sky wonder is one of many ways we appreciate the Creator. I am always amazed with the way the Creator hides His secret. The following video reveals the secret of 1.618: the number of golden mean, enjoy watching...