My name is Jim Turner and I have been involved with astronomy since 1996. I discovered a small niche of astronomers who where starting to use video cameras to replace the eyepiece. 

Back around the late 90's to early 2001 or so people were starting to use webcams and video cameras to see live views of the moon and bright objects. Around 1997 Adirondack Video Astronomy came up with a camera called the Astrovid 2000  ,they were the first along with G Star cameras down in Australia. There is a Sky & Telescope article about them from December 1998 which is very informative. The Yahoo groups for these cameras are gone now, but make no mistake they were the very first. No matter what anyone else may claim. All others just copied and followed along. I was hooked on it after I saw that first  Stellacam show me the Horse Head in a 8 inch telescope. That and the fact I could see the live view better with the camera than I could ever see with an eyepiece sold me on the entire idea.

  I didn't have to wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness in order to obtain some sort of details on the object.  No sir. Now I could see the object live and in color. Not only could I see the object better than any eyepiece could ever show me, I could now also share that view with others live on a monitor.  To top it all off there were some guys using the internet to broadcast their views live on line. This to me was a grand idea. Sharing your skies with others around the world. What could be better than that. Another factor that pushed me towards video astronomy was the fact my eyes were seeing less as age and time will do to us.

  Live monitor viewing astronomy has really gained some ground in the last few years.  It has allowed people to share their skies with others around the world 24 hours a day.

While there are forums and there are personal blogs, none compare to what live video astronomy can do or show on line and live.

 I built the very first live on line broadcasting web site called Night Skies Network .COM . Make no mistake It was the first dedicated live on line web site built for live on line astronomy and I built it and started it. Nobody can claim this one fact and to do so would be a lie. It was built in order for me to share my skies live on line with as many people who care to chat and watch. The only limits to any of it is the weather and free time. It is fun and you can learn a lot about the skies above. That makes it all worth it. So please check out NIGHT SKIES NETWORK. COM  if you get the time and chance to do so.