Category: General
A historic grab
The International Space Station reached out and grabbed the Dragon capsule today, one of the final steps in making the Dragon the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the station. The things […]
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 […]
Clouds, but not always
I’ve been “busy doing other things” this summer, so I haven’t really spent much time under the stars. After the “one rainy day” in late August, it was HOT and sunny (and […]
Astro knowledge / General / Observing Reports
Seattle weather
After a couple weeks of fairly clear weather (that is, without any measurable precipitation), it rained on Monday afternoon, and was cloudy all night. It was clear again by Tuesday night, and […]
General / Maintenance / Observing Reports
Just one of those nights
I am learning how to be a portable astronomer. I have to say that I dislike it. There are a lot of things that have to go right in order for a […]
General / Observatory / Observing Reports
Ad Astra Observatory at Hilltop (WA) — first light!
I finally got myself together enough (with a little help from my friends) to set up some astronomy equipment. It took a bit of hunting around, but I scrounged enough parts to […]
A handful of clear nights
There have been a few clear nights, perhaps 4, since I’ve moved to the new house. At least two of those nights would have been ones that I ignored if I was […]
A clear night at Hilltop
We’ve just moved into the new house in WA. It has been a fairly cloudy spring here, so I as worried that I would not get to see any sky for awhile. […]
First Spirit, now Atlantis
The Space Shuttle Atlantis took off this morning on the final flight of the shuttle program. With nothing to replace it, the shuttle program’s demise ends America’s manned spaceflight program, at least […]
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.