tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50978367297117013782012-01-10T11:17:56.455-08:00Welcome to the Eastside Astronomical Society blog page. This blog is used to share information found on the internet about astronomy, space travel, science, and other interesting items that may fit in.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.comBlogger5331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-26708148350558054562012-01-10T11:16:00.000-08:002012-01-10T11:17:56.467-08:00

Now that the International Space Station is complete, a guide has finally been published by NASA.  Nice thing is, this is a free download, and  you can burn through all your printer ink if you decide to print out all 130 pages.  Looks like a good publication, tons of photos diagrams, cutaways and other goodies.  I wonder if NASA will sell printed versions of this?  I'd go for it since I have the

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-50287715575086812532011-12-26T11:51:00.000-08:002011-12-26T11:51:46.480-08:00

It just hasn't been a very good time these days for observing in Seattle.  Years ago, we seemed to have better skies, but just never seem to get very many really good nights these days.  Clouds, fog, crud or just plain unstable. This photo of Jupiter was taken earlier this month on a fairly stable night.  I've done better, but I have to take what I can get.  Jupiter is in a very good position

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-76570210959803536402011-12-26T11:05:00.000-08:002011-12-26T11:05:22.271-08:00

Been a while since I posted something on the blog site, so I need to get caught up again.   I'll just say 2011 has been a year to put behind me, and looking forward to starting 2012 - even if the Mayan calendar says this is our final year! Comet Lovejoy seen from the ISS So, once again there is a way cool fancy comet in the skies that favors those that walk upside down below the equator.  A few

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-82464497252205663522011-11-14T08:57:00.000-08:002011-11-14T08:57:27.503-08:00

Another really pretty video of the Earth from the space station along with a bunch of auroras and thunderstorms flickering in the clouds.   Very cool, but I think they could have used some better music. Watch it in band-width sucking HD and full screen for best effect. Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-3313055420322122402011-11-02T22:45:00.000-07:002011-11-02T22:55:33.796-07:00

I've had a few contacts through the club website lately asking about club members that could come to a scout meeting and demonstrate or teach some things about astronomy and telescopes.  I thought it would be more fun, and a lot easier to invite the Cub Pack (or is it a Troop?) over to our backyard observatory for a viewing.  Ok, November is getting into the dangerous month for storms and rare

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-6809394046615157872011-10-31T11:43:00.000-07:002011-10-31T11:43:42.255-07:00

I'll probably hide in my basement tonight with the lights off, since I failed to get candy, and what is the point of buying a huge bag for about 7.5 kids that show up?  That stuff just isn't as good tasting as it used to be. I saw this photo on Phil Plait's blog and liked the pumpkin, just thought I would share this one.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-59480545423169913472011-10-26T13:01:00.000-07:002011-10-26T13:01:49.585-07:00

Finally had a break in the weather last night.  Didn't last too long, but enough for a midnight peek and get a few shots of Jupiter last night.  Skies were very stable probably about 8/10 if I can rate our skies.  Grabbed some videos of Jupiter while I could.  I was going for some more as the red spot rotated around the side of the planet, but then it all went dim on my screen.  Leaned out the

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-61626128804851385052011-10-17T18:17:00.000-07:002011-10-17T18:18:37.523-07:00

I was at mom and dad's house this afternoon digging through dad's ties trying to find something that would possibly look good for an interview this week (already nervous about this).  I thought I would paw through some of the old slides to see what was in there.  Found a few photos of myself that were kind of fun and thought I would share them.  A little embarrassing maybe, but then I guess I'm

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-53081407352156211182011-10-10T20:40:00.000-07:002011-10-10T20:44:10.708-07:00

I always enjoy NASA's new sense of humor in the crew "movie posters".  Seems that the official crew photo this time has some Van Gogh in the background. Too add a little more to the fun, I spotted a Cherokee 140 down at Boeing Field late this last summer, which also had similar artwork on it's tail. I wasn't sure at first about the logo on the vertical stabilizer  but after seeing photos from "

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-87456371715913045352011-10-10T20:23:00.000-07:002011-10-10T20:23:53.722-07:00

There is a new document out to test out the ink on your color printer if you want.  I'm sure you can burn through most of your colors if you want.  NASA has published a pretty nice 300 page document in .pdf format that is free for download. It contains a summary of each of the shuttle flights in about 2 or 3 pages each.  Timelines, photos and other goodies. |Click here to download it (36 Meg .pdf

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-16342417776414234212011-10-07T16:32:00.000-07:002011-10-07T16:32:44.755-07:00

The fountains of Enceladus. A pretty photo from Cassini that was just released. (Click for bigger) | More from Ciclops site |

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-30207681333651280032011-09-19T11:03:00.000-07:002011-09-19T11:03:51.649-07:00

This has been all over the internet the last few days, so it's probably nothing new.  I was watching it and wondering what the ISS was flying over.  I then spotted the familiar view of the Salton Sea and Baja in Southern California and then realized it was flying down the West coast. Backing up to the start again I saw what I was looking for - Washington State.  Easy to pick out the lights (

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-76259699815604206312011-09-11T11:02:00.000-07:002011-09-11T11:02:51.105-07:00

Some of the "easy" things in the sky are always tempting to try again and again.  I shot this image of M27 about a week ago.  Basically, the only thing I did different was a much longer exposure.  Took my chances, and tried to put a little more trust and confidence in my autoguiding system.  I took a few 10 minute exposures to see if I could get in deeper to this object.  Seemed to work!  You can

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-58184353513179727582011-09-11T10:52:00.000-07:002011-09-11T10:53:47.604-07:00

Neighbor galaxy M101 decided to show off this time since M51 blew off a couple stars in the last few years.  Ok, they aren't really neighbors, but they are both in the Big Dipper handle.  Caught an image of the new supernova last week. It's a doozy!  I haven't tried, but I've heard it can be seen with small telescopes also these days.  Probably reached it's peak and starting to fade, but I caught

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-79031590879393357722011-09-11T10:42:00.000-07:002011-09-11T10:42:06.151-07:00

10 years ago the most horrible event in aviation history happened.  Don't need say much more since those visions are forever burned in our minds.  Today I'll remember 9/11 by celebrating our continuing freedom to fly our own airplanes - by going flying!

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-30030494824935195212011-08-16T23:28:00.000-07:002011-08-16T23:29:21.727-07:00

Got lucky, and managed to capture the ISS again with some fairly good images again.  It's kind of a hit and miss thing to get some good images.  For years I was using about 1/500th/second for shutter speed, and that was fine, but now that the station is done, and a lot brighter with all the panels, modules and spacecraft parked there it's a lot brighter now.  I've been experimenting with 1/1000th

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-12789575883218084592011-08-15T18:14:00.000-07:002011-08-16T18:22:29.575-07:00

When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.  -- Leonardo da Vinci A different blog entry this time.  Yesterday 8/14, was the 20th anniversary of my first airplane solo flight.  I thought it would be fun to write up an essay summary of the last 20 years of my flight

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-454211757831885662011-08-12T19:00:00.000-07:002011-08-12T19:01:45.455-07:00

Comet Garradd is in the eastern sky these days.  Last week it floated past the M15 globular cluster for some nice pretty views of the comet.  Kind of a near and far object in the same small chunk of sky. At the time, this comet was about magnitude 8 when I took this.  It may go up to about 6th from what I read.  Dark sky visual target for sure. This is just a single 4 minute image, I took about

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-63941055252835611862011-07-21T09:36:00.000-07:002011-07-21T09:36:31.465-07:00

| NASA | 

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-28601783979864913092011-07-21T08:40:00.000-07:002011-07-21T09:24:27.163-07:00

STS-1 STS-135 "Hey thanks, Butch, great words, great words," Ferguson said. "You know, the space shuttle has changed the way we view the world and it's changed the way we view our universe. There are a lot of emotions today, but one things indisputable -- America's not going to stop exploring."Thank you Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour and our ship, Atlantis. Thank you for

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-81107530548720150382011-07-19T22:47:00.000-07:002011-07-19T22:48:07.091-07:00

Beautiful video, beautiful ship on her last flight.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-91767841518298546222011-07-19T11:16:00.000-07:002011-07-19T11:16:41.811-07:00

Atlantis and the shuttle program leave the ISS forever.    The final fly-around.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-60931454795621319472011-07-18T12:21:00.000-07:002011-07-18T12:22:09.728-07:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-90777343686652326622011-07-14T19:27:00.000-07:002011-07-14T19:27:05.056-07:00

I just came across one of the more interesting angles of a shuttle launch from last week. Photo was taken from the Shuttle training aircraft just after Atlantis passed by. Here is the view looking directly down the fresh SRB plume.  I wonder if the Shuttle leaves wingtip vorticies like an airplane does on takeoff? ...and a nice shockwave shot looking right up Atlantis' tailpipe.  Almost the

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-34453214775879945472011-07-12T18:13:00.000-07:002011-07-12T18:13:01.195-07:00

Some interesting information showed up in my email recently.  I guess there is a drop in activity on the astrophotography forums.  People are posting less photos and there seems to be a decline in the interest. I got this info in the AIC (Astro Imaging Conference) newsletter in my email.   A quote from the letter: The study found overall interest, as

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-43450752346981797082011-07-07T11:42:00.000-07:002011-07-07T11:44:48.662-07:00

From Collectspace.com this morning: Update | July 6, 2011: Due to the logo being inadvertently applied to the door upside down, Atlantis will fly without its nose art. A plain black door was installed instead.The final flight was originally going to have the shuttle program logo on the tank, but it was printed wrong so it won't fly on the final mission. Kind of sad if you ask me, almost like

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-29055880950206395502011-07-04T11:52:00.000-07:002011-07-04T11:52:07.792-07:00

Another nice graphic of the shuttle program. Why does all this great stuff come out when the program is ending?!  (Click for full size)

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-84015642122276985172011-07-04T11:48:00.001-07:002011-07-05T16:13:21.081-07:00

I came across a very nice Youtube recording of a launch.  Just view it in HD mode, and turn up your subwoofer. UPDATE:  Looking at the video there was another suggested video on the list.  Again, enough subwoofer boost to scare the cats out of the room and knock the shampoo bottle down in the shower (yes, I've done this!) is required for proper effect.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-53780208135406306872011-07-03T11:04:00.000-07:002011-07-03T11:06:58.056-07:00

The press kit for STS-135 is available for free download now.  It's 172 pages long and has a lot of information about the entire 30 year shuttle program.  It's a 172 page .pdf file, so save your ink and print it (discretely) on your printer at the office! | STS-135 press kit (35 meg .pdf) | | Other past press kits from NASA |

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-39726121335649605732011-07-03T10:22:00.000-07:002011-07-03T10:23:45.668-07:00

I guess I didn't post this one before, but here it is.  This is just a compilation of some of my best photos from the Discovery STS-133 launch in February.  I did a little processing of the images and put them together in a sequence. (as always click the image to see in it's full size glory!) Now where is Discovery?  She is sitting in the OPF at KSC getting torn apart, cleaned and prepared for

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-54417065206598480622011-06-30T18:00:00.000-07:002011-06-30T18:00:01.342-07:00

If you have seen the moon - that bright annoying that that always seems to come out on the clear nights chasing us deep-sky guys back indoors - you are probably familiar with Tycho crater.  It's that crater that has the huge ray system that splatters across the face of the moon. Here is a shot of it that I took during a total eclipse a few years back, easy to see Tycho just to the right and

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-54870204391850146032011-06-27T17:47:00.000-07:002011-06-27T23:38:39.548-07:00

Another clear night, this last weekend.   Sometimes we do get them around here, we know it's summer when we have 1 good night a week rather than on a bi-monthly basis.   I found that I've had good luck with going 8 minutes on exposures, so I gave this little cluster of dim fuzzies another attempt.  Sometimes things just work out right and the telescope autoguider will behave for the whole evening

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-51770993382738024072011-06-18T10:02:00.000-07:002011-06-18T10:02:52.587-07:00

Sure, but not our moon this time.  Every now and then the moon will be perfectly aligned in the sky for a conjunction of another planet or even a total occultation of the distant planet where the moon will pass in front.  We don't see these here in Seattle too often since rare events are usually cursed by bad weather. Here is a unique view of Mars' moon Phobos passing in front of Jupiter viewed

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-66755932152659712372011-06-08T11:04:00.000-07:002011-06-08T11:14:01.360-07:00

More photos keep coming out of this.  Some of these will have to end up in the NASA top 10 coolest photos along with the Apollo 11 "Refection" or "Phoenix landing" (my favorite). Here is the video.  Don't waste your time on small screen click it and go to full HD for the full effect.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-41772253888664266232011-06-07T12:43:00.000-07:002011-06-07T12:49:31.465-07:00

The Russians finally got their slow act together (maybe their Internet upload speeds to Houston are kind of slow?) and released the photos we have been waiting a couple weeks for.   Endeavour's final visit to the ISS in all her glory docked at the station. I'll have to make a large print of one of these photos, frame it, and put it on my wall with my other shuttle stuff.   I think this is my

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-64394151348845862222011-06-05T22:58:00.000-07:002011-06-05T22:58:36.292-07:00

Able to wipe out good and evil, destroy an entire solar system, and spray gamma rays in all directions for billions of miles.  What is this horrible creature?  No, not the Death Star or La Nina, but it's - SUPER NOVA! Now available on a t-shirt.   So geeky and fun, I may have to order one of these for myself. || Super Nova t-shirt |

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-52795362230840467192011-06-05T22:45:00.000-07:002011-06-05T22:46:41.134-07:00

A fancy looking swirl of clouds, almost looks like my galaxy photo from last night!  But the only reason I could get a shot at the galaxy and supernova is because the lousy spring weather we have had has hit California this time. Here is a photo that I captured from my basement satellite station of the storm.  Seems that it's very unusual for this to happen down there according to Cliff Mass, but

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-41154946314692375942011-06-05T12:22:00.000-07:002011-06-05T12:22:27.497-07:00

Finally, a decent night for some imaging!  Stability of the sky could have been better, the twinkling of the stars may be pretty for some people, but lousy for astronomy.  But I have to take what I can this year with the screwed up La Nina stuff we have been dealing with. So, here is a thought for the day to think about and make that little corner of your brain go "ping!".  Approximately 37

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-72201407616039022802011-06-04T19:04:00.000-07:002011-06-04T19:04:10.430-07:00

Once the boosters are back and all cameras are collected, it's always fun to see these videos of the launch highlights.  Look for the thermal image of the ET getting filled, never seen that before! ...and here is another view never seen before.  This was made from 6 cameras shooting at 250 frames per second, for a total of over 20,000 images combined for this video.   Almost an HDR effect,

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-37724127321975955682011-06-02T09:40:00.000-07:002011-06-02T09:40:21.272-07:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-64040803776196267582011-05-30T12:46:00.000-07:002011-05-30T12:47:54.277-07:00

It's another one of those very cool time-lapse photos from the observatory in Chile.   Darks skies, bright Milky Way, and those big telescopes moving probably every night.  But this view has been modified a little.  Rather than the sky rotating over the Earth, the sky is kept still and the Earth rotates under the sky.  Different and interesting! | Credit to YouTube user "Bulletpeople" and

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-5735120680273196222011-05-28T00:29:00.000-07:002011-05-28T00:31:01.903-07:00

Another one of those "Last _______ of the space shuttle...." moments.  Fill in the blank with "Spacewalk" this time.  Just another view we won't see again. ....still waiting for the Soyuz pictures! | See full size and other info here (NASA) || More at SpaceflightNow |

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-29774129886839670882011-05-26T18:37:00.000-07:002011-05-26T18:43:48.990-07:00

Like it or not, it now seems that Orion is officially not canceled like the rest of the Constellation program.  Here is an infographic of the future of NASA manned spacecraft after this summer when the shuttle is grounded and distributed to some strangely chosen museums. The Orion spacecraft development has been moving along while the booster has been canceled.  Remember that single bottle rocket

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-62486597698702314742011-05-23T23:25:00.000-07:002011-05-25T20:59:48.816-07:00

UPDATE 5/25:   STILL waiting for the photos. Seems they left the memory cards in the Soyuz spacecraft and it's going to Moscow tomorrow. The contents of the Soyuz craft, including the precious cards, "will be processed through normal disposition procedures" at the Energia rocket company's spacecraft fabrication facility on the northern outskirts of Moscow, Navias told Oberg. NASA expects to

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-69970708820801859352011-05-23T18:29:00.000-07:002011-05-23T18:30:15.929-07:00

If you are like me, you can appreciate the sound of certain machinery doing what they do best.  The deep rumble of a B-17 at full power, the snarl of a 12 cylinder Ferrari accelerating on the on-ramp, or the crackling thunder of a shuttle launch.   These fine sounding machines are hard to really capture the sound to do it any justice.  The shuttle is so loud that most microphones will get

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-9487649677969565592011-05-21T14:21:00.000-07:002011-05-21T14:21:25.533-07:00

I'm kind of glad that I didn't try to go see this launch last week.  It's looking like the best view was from above the clouds, since viewers on the ground saw it for about 22 seconds before it went into the clouds.  Kind of a bummer view if you ask me, but then I've been spoiled with 2 great launches including a night launch. Can't beat that! Short view from the Visitor Center.  Funny to hear

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-24683857823857931392011-05-06T18:13:00.000-07:002011-05-06T18:13:19.491-07:00

An interesting graphic that I found a while back, but just getting around to posting. Sizes, crews and other information on spacecraft and stations over the last 50 years. Sad that we haven't been any farther from Earth than we were back in 1966.  Thirty years of the shuttle and nobody has been farther out than approximately 300 miles. (Click the graphic to see the full size)

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-33735766464269727042011-05-05T17:43:00.000-07:002011-05-06T12:01:22.961-07:00

I'm a day late on the Star Wars day, but got the date right for the 50th anniversary of Alan Shepard's first flight.  50 years ago today the United States took second place to Yuri Gagarin and flung Alan Shepard up into space - briefly - but high enough to count.  His 15 minute flight got him up into space, but not fast enough to go into orbit, 190 miles downrange he splashed into the Atlantic. 

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-90339674723703583612011-04-24T20:33:00.000-07:002011-04-24T20:43:14.065-07:00

Spring happened on Friday afternoon through to Saturday evening.   Of course as always, the skies crudded over at sunset on Saturday.  I blew the dust and crud off the scope, opened the roof, and got the grease on the scope gears loosened up a bit with some solar tracking. Did some daylight observing and got this shot of the sun. My plans for going after some 10th magnitude galaxies in Ursa Major

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-84316256676723104782011-04-20T18:46:00.000-07:002011-04-20T18:47:48.708-07:00

It was 77 days (or nights) ago that the backyard observatory roof was open.  Last night wasn't really good for much since skies were hazy, and the moon was coming up around 10pm.  Just not a good night for the dim fuzzy stuff that I like collecting photons from. The ISS was making a good pass, so I had to give it a try.  Took a peek at Saturn as a focusing target, and then waited for the station

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-71251654252459394352011-04-20T17:41:00.000-07:002011-04-20T18:24:23.349-07:00

21 years ago today, the now retired space shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble telescope.  At the time of launch, it wasn't known that the mirror was made slightly wrong and the scope needed glasses to read the small "Z X P E D" printed in small letters on the wall chart on the other side of the universe.  Hubble was fixed and has become one of the few things in the space program that the

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-53912923196884926422011-04-13T18:08:00.000-07:002011-04-13T18:22:22.663-07:00

Here in Seattle, we can't too upset about a shuttle going to New York.  At least Seattle will get a wingless, full size training shuttle - and we'll be able to go inside it. Houston, home of the astronauts, mission control for the shuttle, the US half of ISS control, and the huge pool that the astronauts train for spacewalks in - just to name a few things.  What did they score yesterday? Real,

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-35319965268281451882011-04-12T18:51:00.000-07:002011-04-13T18:16:07.321-07:00

Happy Yuri's day (or Yuri's Night, if your city has a party).  Seattle used to have a party, and it was a pretty good one the first year, but sources I know at the Museum now tell me it's a real sore point when this comes up.  But maybe nobody would be in a party mood tonight after the news this morning.  So...50 year ago today, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.  Ok, there is some

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-81634358304185279772011-04-06T23:26:00.000-07:002011-04-06T23:30:18.011-07:00

Another cartoon today.  This is another one of my favorite local cartoonists that really knows how we feel here.  I like how the guy (possibly a Seattle astronomer?) is clutching his coffee cup with caffeine smeared across his face.  Perfect. | See full cartoon on "The Oatmeal" website |

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-63860427768570452532011-04-05T18:18:00.000-07:002011-04-05T18:21:48.141-07:00

The ending of the shuttle has been kind of a sad event for those who have grown up with it, maybe seen it in person a few times, and still try to see it fly over chasing the ISS on clear nights. Seattle cartoonist Brian Basset created this cartoon that give the ending of the shuttle a happier feel to it.  It has been a great ride!  | NASA link to different sizes |

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-39937159446745090062011-04-03T16:09:00.000-07:002011-04-03T16:09:35.694-07:00

We should check Uncle Owen's farm for our missing droid.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-60781341063615789862011-04-01T18:35:00.000-07:002011-04-01T18:57:19.153-07:00

It's now been at least 8 weeks since the skies were clear enough to do any backyard astrophotography.  The only time I've been out there is to occasionally peek into the observatory and make sure my roof leak fix is holding.  I had a leak directly over the telescope, which isn't good.  I've thought about trying to start building a Dobsonian scope around that 10 inch mirror I have, but motivation

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-83971154070295955732011-03-28T18:59:00.000-07:002011-03-28T18:59:19.634-07:00

This would all be a lot happier to see if there was something in the works to replace the shuttles, and launch from a rebuilt launch pad.  But no, nothing but silence and empty blue sky above that part of the space center after this summer. Disovery getting her nose RCS rockets removed and 'safed' for museum display.  | See more on Collectspace.com | Launch pad 39B being taken down.  What will

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-46064584116915631392011-03-28T18:45:00.000-07:002011-03-28T18:45:35.777-07:00

The final crew photo for the space shuttle program. | Full size here | ...and my favorite crew photos, the fun "movie poster". | Full size |

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-383531840520911802011-03-27T22:00:00.000-07:002011-03-27T22:01:50.268-07:00

As always, I find the best things on the internet by accident.  I was wandering around and came across this perfect motivational poster that a lot of frustrated backyard astronomers can probably relate to.  This astrophotography hobby (if you can call shivering in the darkness, with misbehaving electronics, dew, clouds and extreme frustration a "hobby") is sometimes more of a form of self torture

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-24489950858481156782011-03-27T00:42:00.000-07:002011-03-28T19:14:51.012-07:00

A friend sent me this little video clip.  Captain Kirk preaching about taking chances with exploration.  This is from the episode "Return to Tomorrow" which aired on February 9, 1968, which is very fitting for what was going on at that time.  NASA was a few months away from taking a huge risk (like Kirk mentions) and launching Apollo 8 to the moon.  This was the first time a Saturn V had been

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-71994957290177663152011-03-23T08:47:00.000-07:002011-03-23T08:48:41.636-07:00

Another one of those very cool things that I've only seen a couple times from home in the Seattle area.  I'd see it more often, but in Seattle, the rarity of the celestial event is inversely proportional to the amount of cloud cover we have.   Never fails. Great work from Terje Sorgjerd, and a fine choice of Lisa Gerrard for the soundtrack! The Aurora from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-35478655569511570542011-03-16T18:32:00.000-07:002011-03-16T18:32:09.798-07:00

It's been an ugly week for dramatic photos with the disaster in Japan.  We can always depend on Boston.com for some of the best photos of current events, and it's been filled with destruction lately. So, they finally published a nice set of photos from Discovery's final mission, as well as a bunch of older ones.  Take a break from the sadness in Japan and view this set. | For Discovery, a

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-33024787734126196742011-03-14T21:32:00.000-07:002011-03-14T21:38:36.948-07:00

It's been a few days since the final flight of Discovery completed.  The first of the final three "...wheels stop" calls have been made.  Discovery has gone from being the hardest working shuttle in our fleet to a museum artifact that will never fly on her own power again.  Discovery has flown 365 days in space, 39 missions, twice she brought us back from disaster of Challenger and Columbia loses

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-60393459960086017732011-03-08T23:41:00.000-08:002011-03-08T23:42:32.254-08:00

All this "final" stuff is really depressing.  I've said it before, the shuttle is old, it's end has been scheduled for a while now, and now it's finally coming to a close after 30 years.  Next up for one last flight is Endeavour.  Some nice photos of her final trip to the VAB from Ken Kramer at Universetoday.com site.  | Final stacking photo album |

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-91389740331031582572011-03-08T23:32:00.000-08:002011-03-08T23:35:07.184-08:00

I always look forward to seeing these videos come out about a week after launch.  They do such a nice job of editing the camera angles and the music fits in so well with the action. Tomorrow Shuttle Discovery is coming home for the final time. Nicole Stott said it well.... “I’m looking forward to bringing her home to the people who care for her the most, to the time when we are on the runway and

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-940918076563550952011-03-02T23:26:00.000-08:002011-03-02T23:26:50.382-08:00

Discovery is up there for th last time.  Can't the Seattle skies just clear up for a while so I can get a shot of the shuttle flying over my house for the final time?  Please? Once again, Thierry Legault has shared another one of his amazing images of the station.  If the Russians would take a few chances and fly the Soyuz around the station for a photo shoot of the completed complex,  it might

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-24072591807673817872011-03-01T18:56:00.000-08:002011-03-01T19:08:59.574-08:00

I didn't take any video myself of the launch, but usually just wait a few days and some really great stuff shows up.  Here are a couple good ones that I've come across. Here is the full 8 minutes of the launch seen from pilot Eric Boe's seat.  This looks out the front windshield over the nose of the shuttle with the tank below it.  Look how fast the sky gets dark! If you follow the shuttle

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-55833389419286539202011-02-28T20:15:00.000-08:002011-03-01T18:22:38.130-08:00

Tom and Keith awaiting launch I just got back from Florida Saturday night.  A long day of traveling with a drunk cowboy kicking the back of my seat all the way across the country.  I nearly turned around and told him what I thought but figured he would chase me through the terminal once I got off the plane. It was kind of a quick decision to go to the launch, it was delayed back in November for

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-67321794268985612742011-02-11T18:16:00.000-08:002011-03-01T11:10:36.924-08:00

February 1st there was one of those nights that was clear and moon free.  Usually it's clear when the moon is full, but got lucky this time.  It was time to go after something new that I've never imaged before, so I went after the M78 nebula in Orion.  This is a pretty tough object, since there a dark gas/dust clouds around the brightly illuminated area.  If you capture and process it right, the

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-85662008837970598272011-02-01T06:12:00.000-08:002011-02-01T09:30:22.809-08:00

I always liked this quote... "If we die, we want people to accept it. We're in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."                --Gus Grissom Apollo 18 years ago Columbia was lost. 25  years ago Challenger vanished. 44 years ago Apollo 1 burned. The lost shuttles - Columbia STS-4, and

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-65868611502619663032011-01-28T21:17:00.000-08:002011-01-28T21:19:12.254-08:00

Another one of those very tall,  large info-graphics images.  This time it's a comparison between a very big truck and a large rocket.  Actually, I'm very impressed with the load capacity of the truck.  It does pretty well compared to the Delta IV Heavy.  Acceleration of the truck is impressive, at least to a point. (Click image for full size) Although, the Delta IV rocket beats the truck in the

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-83693002209310749502011-01-22T02:09:00.000-08:002011-01-22T02:13:39.668-08:00

Just for fun, I opened one of my images from last summer of M27 dumbell nebula to play with.  This is just another very quick processing job, but I tried some of the methods that I learned from Adam Block on my trip to Arizona last month. This does need some more work (I say that about all my images if you haven't figured that out by now), the star color is kind of strange, sky is a weird gross 

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-51590717187426961552011-01-22T01:54:00.000-08:002011-01-22T09:37:05.029-08:00

A friend sent me this website today (thanks Dave) showing the sad state of the Russian's abandoned space shuttle program.   Our shuttle has been flying 30 years, but the Russians only managed a single flight lasting only about three hours back in November 1988.  I'm assuming this site was abandoned a few years later? I wish the photos had captions on them, but I guess nobody knows what to say

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-6159179550242661342011-01-20T00:30:00.000-08:002011-01-20T09:12:01.196-08:00

The US manned program is in a bit of a mess right now, cracked shuttle tank, delayed mission, spacewalker bumped with a broken hip from a bike accident, commander of final shuttle flight's wife shot and replacement commander in place - just in case. I won't get into the problems with the funding for the heavy lift rocket right now. The unmanned programs are doing great though!  Mark your calendar

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-11933290232570554742011-01-19T19:24:00.000-08:002011-01-19T19:30:09.980-08:00

Artwork by Royaba It's again been about 3 weeks since the skies have been clear enough to do something outside.  Its been weeks of sitting in the house watching TV in the evenings while La Nina beats on the outside of the house.  Some snow, lot of wind, freezing rain, then just plain soggy rain.  Nina has also been sneaking into the backyard observatory through a small leak in the roof that I

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-79500733508963697332011-01-16T13:16:00.000-08:002011-01-16T13:28:19.302-08:00

A friend just sent me this story in email. I did search around to make sure it was real, and it shows up all over the place when Googled. You never can be too sure with things passed around in email. (Thanks for the story Maxine!). This was circulated in email at work, from United Technologies corporate.A quick "trip report" from the pilot of the 747 that flew the shuttle back to Florida

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-34266305682104856262011-01-11T09:10:00.000-08:002011-01-11T09:10:55.467-08:00

I think this is supposed to funny, but it all seems so realistic and familiar!  I'm sure a few that read this blog might be able to relate.   :-)

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-22568671219500766302011-01-04T21:36:00.000-08:002011-01-04T21:36:59.622-08:00

After a lunar eclipse, there is often a solar eclipse, most cases it's not total but partial.  This photo has been going all over the internet today, so it may be familiar, but still totally awesome! Earth's natural satellite (the moon), and our artificial satellite (the ISS) both eclipsing the sun at the same time.  Talk about good timing, the exact location on Earth (Oman in this case), clear

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-17945074849294871952011-01-02T19:33:00.000-08:002011-01-02T19:35:26.138-08:00

New Years Eve, most would be out staring at the Space Needle in large mobs of people pushing and shoving to see the fireworks.  Nope, don't like the crowds, so I spent the evening staring at real space!  First clear night in about 2 months. Of course the best target in the winter skies is M42.  This is 30 exposures all at 800 ISO between 20 seconds up to 6 minutes.   I used some tricks from Tony

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-13583185044163473062010-12-28T22:41:00.000-08:002010-12-28T22:41:25.927-08:00

How does your favorite space movie rate? Star Trek isn't on the list since it's science is way too screwed up. 

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-54290485590046409192010-12-24T11:09:00.000-08:002010-12-24T15:20:54.457-08:00

William Anders  "We are now approaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-4946645206555288062010-12-24T10:47:00.000-08:002010-12-24T10:49:29.273-08:00

...just another amazing shot from Damien Peach.  Some people manage to find places on the planet where the atmosphere is lacking (I guess Barbados is the place), very thin or maybe just more skilled (lucky?) than any other amateur astronomer on the Earth. Be sure to click to enlarge the photo and notice that you can see details on the moons also. Now I put my socks back on and pick myself up off

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-42705853616326263642010-12-21T20:11:00.000-08:002010-12-21T20:11:22.124-08:00

Those are BIG mirrors Earlier this month I took a few days off from work and "snowbirded" myself south to Arizona like a silver haired retiree (but without the motorhome and small dog) for some sun and clear skies.  I did find what I was seeking with about 78 degrees and blue skies, while Seattle got pounded with inches of rain and flooding. The main reason for going south was to attend a

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-70430192646793383172010-12-20T10:09:00.000-08:002010-12-20T10:09:38.690-08:00

 Phil Plait is doing his "Top 10 photos for 2010" on his blog site today.  I liked the comparison he had between these two photos.  We are still a long way from from grandma in space though! | Phil's Top 10 |

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-47711842653005542572010-12-16T23:10:00.000-08:002010-12-16T23:10:57.335-08:00

It's been a while since we had anything new from Mars from rover Oppy other than just flat dunes.  The little rover has just arrived at "Santa Maria" another large crater on Mars.  No view peeking into the crater just yet, but that will come! Very cool new image.  (Credit to Ant103 on Unmannedspaceflight.com for the image creation)

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-81587865019516193602010-12-15T18:32:00.000-08:002010-12-15T18:32:00.505-08:00

ISS commander Scott Kelly gives a tour of his tiny closet home on board the ISS.   I like how he mentions he does his banking from space on his internet laptop.  Probably not too good for a multiplayer game of Halo or streaming Netflix movies though!

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-50443488350798244332010-12-11T08:36:00.001-08:002010-12-11T23:25:31.663-08:00

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-34533472859420963522010-12-06T21:10:00.000-08:002010-12-07T13:30:12.540-08:00

Not astronomy related this time, but just something I did last weekend that was pretty darn cool.  2010 is the 100th anniversary of the first woman to get a pilot's license.  The local airport just down the hill from my house was trying to become the "most woman friendly airport" and the goal was to fly 154 women and girls. I volunteered to fly and give rides.  We had about 6 planes on wheels, 2

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-33911767036918999722010-11-28T10:47:00.000-08:002010-11-28T10:47:29.659-08:00

Facebook, Nintendo and texting are for kids.....astronomy is for CATS!

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-52800019964085303802010-11-27T11:48:00.000-08:002010-11-27T11:48:45.224-08:00

The ESA Mars Express orbiter has sent home another amazing shot, this time of the little moon Phobos above Mars.   ESA always seems so modest about their images, they have such great stuff, but we never really hear about them since they don't brag about them much! I almost expect to see the Millenium Falcon in this nearly sci-fi (but real!) image. | Click here for full size || More from

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-10508406616852499212010-11-24T10:25:00.000-08:002010-11-24T10:25:36.974-08:00

Arctic blast and the city crippling 2.5 inches of snow that causes Seattle to freak out has hit us this week.   I feel that I ducked La Nina's punch since my commute wasn't too bad the other day when the snow was falling, took me 1.5 hours on the bus and a 2.5 mile walk home.   Some coworkers were on their bus for over 5 hours.  Ha!  You didn't get me yet La Nina! Clear skies last night and a

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-15755981568483411662010-11-20T00:30:00.000-08:002010-11-20T00:30:07.820-08:00

For years we have always been told that comets are "dirty snowballs" flying through the solar system until the sun warms then and melts off gas and dust.  The guy on the science TV shows would always use the dry-ice, dirt and water stirred up to create the steaming model of a comet.  We have proof now that they are correct.  When I first saw those closeup images of comet Hartley 2 from the

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-16650028720950584172010-11-06T19:10:00.000-07:002010-11-06T19:10:26.520-07:00

It's always fun when you observe something from your little backyard observatory and a few weeks later, see the object again from a spacecraft.  Just the other day, this happened again.  Comet Hartley 2 which I had imaged a few weeks ago was visited by the Deep Impact (EPOXI) spacecraft and got a close view of this peanut shaped object.  The comet is only 1.5 miles long, and the smallest so far

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-87847588228405412582010-11-04T17:56:00.000-07:002010-11-04T17:56:00.355-07:00

A couple of very nice timelapse videos with music that I came across recently. TimeScapes: Rapture from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo. Landscapes: Volume One from dustin farrell on Vimeo.

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-17164435767383528412010-10-30T13:37:00.000-07:002010-10-31T13:11:57.403-07:00

Got a brief peek at the moonless sky last night.  Back to rain again today, but had to take advantage of the clearing and try something.  It's always tempting (greed maybe?) to become a photon hoarder when we get some clearing like this.  I had to resist the temptation to try multiple objects and just stick with one thing for the evening.  Ok, I did try a shot at the ISS pass earlier, but like

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-55898686361790182862010-10-18T18:00:00.000-07:002010-10-18T18:00:00.106-07:00

This is a very long and skinny image so you'll have to click on the strip on the left to see it.  This is an interesting diagram/slice of atmosphere showing the heights of a bunch of familiar things.  Interesting to see that Spaceship One made it a little higher on a single engine than the main engine shutdown altitude of the space shuttle.  Of course the shuttle is going a LOT faster and can

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-25443198952998221982010-10-17T18:04:00.000-07:002010-10-17T18:04:48.996-07:00

Got another decent and stable evening last night.  The moon was out and bright, so the deep sky imaging is pretty much hopeless right now for the faint stuff that I like chasing.  The brightest thing in the sky now (not counting the moon) is Jupiter of course.  Comet Harley is way over to the Northwest until way after midnight now, so it's out of view of the observatory since it's behind the big

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-62104364181147232892010-10-16T10:39:00.000-07:002010-10-16T10:43:30.774-07:00

Sometimes don't you feel ashamed to realize that you are a member of the same species as these people?  Easy to see that reporters for the Fox Network (yes, the same network that brought us the infamous "Moon Landing Hoax" documentary) don't need any basic common sense to maintain their jobs.   If you look blond pretty and can speak and maybe read a cue card  (slightly) you qualify for a decent

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5097836729711701378.post-64332241249151062952010-10-03T18:31:00.000-07:002010-10-03T18:32:17.525-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Jupiter reached opposition. That is when the Earth is exactly lined up between Jupiter and the sun.  Therefore, Jupiter will rise at sunset, be at it's highest point in the sky at midnight, and set at sunrise.  Also, it's the closest point the planet will come to the Earth, and appear at it's largest in telescopes.  This opposition will be the closest pass to Earth in almost

Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00177443374751333878noreply@blogger.com0