Category: Observing Reports
Sirius and Rigel, high in the south
… were the only two stars I could see tonight. It’s been a blustery day punctuated with strong showers, and the wind has opened just a tiny seam in the cloud cover, […]
Astro knowledge / General / Observing Reports
Nice short session
After several days of clouds, and with a freak hailstorm this afternoon, the storm blew itself out for a bit, and we got clear skies for an hour or so right after […]
Astro knowledge / General / Observatory / Observing Reports
Star party at Hilltop O
We hosted guests this evening at The ad Astra Observatory at Hilltop, Woodinville, Wa. B_, R_ & M_ stopped by for a really pretty and clear, but brr cold night at mid-winter. […]
General / Maintenance / Observing Reports / Techniques
Sometimes, not everything goes right.
One for the blooper reel. This is just a single subframe. On a good night, I take 6-10 of these. On a poor night, I get more like 3. Sometimes, I get […]
Observatory / Observing Reports / Technology
Dome automation 1.0 – Second light
Since I overexposed my shot of M13 last time (I hope that I can pull in some dim, edge detail…), I had to wait for a few days to appease the astronomy […]
Astro knowledge / Blog / Gear / General / Maintenance / Observing Reports / Techniques / Telescope
Back to basics.
I used to be good at this. Omg, gaggle of geese flying over. Local dogs wigging out. But, I digress. I got Really good at planetary, but had higher hopes, and this […]
Luna returns
What an amazing astrophotography run I had this month. It’s been quite some time since I was feeling so sleep-deprived by the time the 3-day moon showed up. There were even a […]
Clear tonight
.. but I’m worn out on astronomy. I spent the night inside. Next clear sky, I’ll be back out there again, I’m just tired of lifting the heavy scope only to get […]
Astro knowledge / General / Observing Reports / Solar System Photography
Transient orbital effects
I have to say that, as a rule, I’m generally not into transient astronomical phenomena. The fact that I can observe and photograph the same, unchanging objects year after year is very […]
Lunar Eclipse 2011
I woke The B up to see the lunar eclipse this morning. It’s the last one before 2014. Moon was looking good high in the west (it was much farther north than […]
RECENT UPDATE
Polar Alignment Calculations
Here’s a page that derives Polar Alignment Calculations. (update 5/2020: the original site is gone, so I found the text on Wayback and am inserting it below. This is by the original […]
Gear / Observatory / Telescope
Special Guest Star takes the mount at Hilltop O
The Astro Jedi needed somewhere to store his light sab—- I mean, bucket, and I was only too happy to accommodate him. I have decided that I need to come to a […]
General / Maintenance / Observatory
Dome shutter is motorized again!
I finally decided to bite the bullet and fix the shutter motor. Things went sideways last winter, and I’ve been opening the shutter manually (and tying it shut with rope, so we […]
Trixie 2017 – tube mods
I finally got around to cutting the MTA-UTA tubes to length; the only eyepiece that would come to focus with the focuser spacer in place is the Televue 55mm Plossl. If I […]
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Observatory
Observatory 2.0 – Time has come today!
General / Maintenance
First Light, a deeper look
Mount / Observatory / Telescope
Observatory 2.0 – Result!
Observatory
Observatory 2.0 – The Pier goes in
Gear / General / Maintenance
Martin Farmer Wormblock installation notes
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
NGC2244, The Rosette Nebula
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
Another beautiful night.