http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu A small backyard dome located in Tucson, Arizona. Copyright 2009 AstronomyBlogs.com Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:01:10 -0600 720 Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:01:10 -0600 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en support@astronomyblogs.com support@astronomyblogs.com http://www.astronomyblogs.com/images/ab_rss_icon.gif http://www.astronomyblogs.com/ 88 31 Weblogs for Astronomers http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=74664 Clear crisp winter nights can be some of the best times for astronomical observing. There is something about the chill in the air that makes the sky more appealing. In reality the cold winter nights are not always the best for seeing conditions, but naked eye views of the sky seem to bring an almost mystical perspective when the night air has that quiet chill. At my house, there are a couple of owls that like to make their "who-who"'s which makes it even more magical. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:01:10 -0600 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=74664 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=74641 It's the end of another year. Looking back I'll simply say that it's a blessing to have experienced it, there really are not many years given to us and despite occasional rough times, I'm grateful to have enjoyed another year of life. Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:47:31 -0600 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=74641 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=74518 Look through a normal eyepiece and you usually see things in black and white. Some stars are colorful, but nebula and galaxies are pretty much always going to appear to be in "Greyscale" to most people's eyes. Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:12:19 -0600 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=74518 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=74459 Just got back from another great monthly meeting of the TAAA (Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association). Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:09:16 -0600 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=74459 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=74118 It's Thanksgiving weekend here in the U.S. With all the crazy world happenings and economic crisis around the world, many folks are finding themselves in the pits of despair. It really is easy to allow all the bad news to dominate one's thinking. Sun, 30 Nov 2008 08:12:24 -0600 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=74118 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=73460 Last night we dedicated a new roll-away observatory building at the TAAA's TIMPA site. Despite some clouds, a fair number of people showed up for the party. As Vice-President of TAAA, I gave introductions to the various speakers, who included David & Wendee Levy, George Barber, and Michael Turner. David & Wendee made the arrangements for a 14" Meade LX200R telescope donation to the club a few years ago, George was the driving force behind construction of the pad and building, and Michael coordinated numerous volunteers who participated in getting the telescope and pier in working order. Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:20:25 -0600 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=73460 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=73099 I'm back home from a weekend at the Advanced Imaging Conference 2008. It was my 3rd time attending this gathering of astroimagers, and once again I had a great time. We heard from numerous speakers on various topics, including some big names like Timothy Ferris (author and producer of Seeing in the Dark). One speaker was from Pixar and he talked about producing 3-dimensional images - I expect we will be seeing a lot of those within the next few years (obviously they will be based on assumptions or simply rendered to emphasize details rather than scientific reality). The picture above shows me wearing the 3-d glasses that he handed out to view some sample images, and they were really cool! Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:33:40 -0600 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=73099 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=72722 Today was the first day of the 2008 Advanced Imaging Conference. I'm here in San Jose for the 3rd year, and enjoying every minute of it. The sessions today were primarily product workshops. I attended 4 of them, including: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:05:53 -0600 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=72722 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=71923 Here's an image of the Western portion of the Veil Nebula. I took this image over several nights last week - there is a total exposure time of 24 hours that went in to this one (8 hours each in H-alpha, OIII, and SII, using 10 minute subframes). I'm trying to determine whether extended exposure times will improve the signal-to-noise ratio enough to overcome some of the limitations I experience when imaging from my back yard. Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:12:04 -0600 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=71923 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=71464 It's Halloween here in the U.S.A. Lots of people dress up in scary costumes and this evening the kids will be going around trick-or-treating. Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:16:49 -0500 http://www.astronomyblogs.com/member/xanadu?xjMsgID=71464