What I did today -instead- of Rocketry.

[GrouchoDuke]

Post the results here! I'd love to see it.

Me too. What program are you going to use to stack the images?

Will do! I spent a few hours on it tonight and it's close to final. I should have a sharable version tomorrow (well, later today). I tell ya, having 10 hours of data sure makes the image processing nice.

Greg, I've been a Nebulosity user for over a decade, so that's what I used for all the stacking, pre-processing (darks, bias, etc), and initial stretching. After that, it's Photoshop.

I used to do all my capturing with it too (along with PHD for autoguiding), but moved to Sequence Generator Pro a while back. I still have an old license of SGP, but the new version is subscription based...so I'm looking into the open source & very popular NINA. For now, NINA isn't working with my SBIG camera though. It sure looks like a winner, but I'll either have to help get the driver working or get a new camera.

That said, I'd love to get a new camera. Mine is good, but it's pretty old. The new ones seem to be leaps & bounds above what mine can do. If & when I get a new camera, NINA will work well with all my gear. I might just have to give myself a present when my next work promotion happens.

I'd like to try PixInsight for processing photos. I just asked for a trial license. If it's all that everyone raves about, I might have to pick it up. Still, Nebulosity just went open source. Nebulosity plus Photoshop plus Nik filters are a pretty powerful combo.

 

[jqavins]

Went and picked my new and badly needed glasses. About 6 months ago I got paint on my old glasses and cleaned them with goof off. Took the paint off and all the coatings. left them cloudy in spots. Now I take my glasses off to paint.

 

[Hobie1dog]

I went to the pain management doctor .

 

[prfesser]

Assembled the e-bike that arrived this morning. Two screws left over; I hate it when that happens.

 

[GrouchoDuke]

Here's my Orion Nebula shot. Almost 10 hours of data from my back yard.

 

[teepot]

View attachment 493257

Goggles.... We don't need any stinking goggles. Or gloves or respirator. It's all outside so the wind/breeze is the problem. Most of the time I just forget I have them on.

 

[jqavins]

The goggles aren't meant for the safety of the eyes, but the safety of the glasses. In windy and bright conditions, I've wound up with glasses covered with dropplets of grease before I know it. Grease is easily washed off, of course, but should that happen with paint I'd far rather ruin goggles.

 

[Tech 68]

Finished and mailed the Christmas cards.
Tomorrow, neglected home maintenance.

 

[Cape Byron]

Made yet another wallaby proof fence. Planted corn inside said fence.

 

[OldMan]

Here's my Orion Nebula shot. Almost 10 hours of data from my back yard.
View attachment 493386

That is awesome.

 

[prfesser]

Here's my Orion Nebula shot. Almost 10 hours of data from my back yard.

The center looks a trifle overexposed but...gorgeous regardless!

 

[boatgeek]

Ladies and Gentlemen*, children of all ages, gather round and hear this tale of heroism! This very day, I, against all odds, installed an electric on-demand hot water heater with only one trip to the hardware store to buy parts. And only burned myself a little bit once on the solder.

Thank you, that is all.

* And, of course, non-binary people of all stripes.

 

[Greg Furtman]

Made yet another wallaby proof fence. Planted corn inside said fence.

We don't have wallabies here. But I do have white tail deer. They are voracious! But I have two big dogs, rescue dogs who are both part Husky. My Big Boy is 115 pounds. And he is so gentle & loving, unless you are a critter. They keep the deer away.

 

[Greg Furtman]

The goggles aren't meant for the safety of the eyes, but the safety of the glasses. In windy and bright conditions, I've wound up with glasses covered with dropplets of grease before I know it. Grease is easily washed off, of course, but should that happen with paint I'd far rather ruin goggles.

I wear trifocals and they are spendy. So when I do something that will affect them temporality, I usually don't put goggles on. BTW, Everclear 190 proof, is a great solvent for cleaning optics. I use it for my glasses, eyepieces, telescope mirrors. Most pure alcohol you can buy at a reasonable price.

Also, when COVID first appeared and there was a shortage of everything including alcohol hand sanitizer. So I could buy Everclear & glycerin so I made a mix of 1/3 glycerin and 2/3 Everclear. I discovered that if I have CA, epoxy, or polyurethane glue on my fingers, if I go to it right away it goes away. Then wash with soap afterwards.

 

[heada]

Ladies and Gentlemen*, children of all ages, gather round and hear this tale of heroism! This very day, I, against all odds, installed an electric on-demand hot water heater with only one trip to the hardware store to buy parts. And only burned myself a little bit once on the solder.

Thank you, that is all.

* And, of course, non-binary people of all stripes.

Why would you want to heat hot water?

 

[Cape Byron]

I wear trifocals and they are spendy.

Yes, but life changing. Multifocal lenses like that must be a bear to create, but worth their weight in unobtanium.

 

[jqavins]

Why would you want to heat hot water?

To make hotter water. Duh.

Yes, but life changing. Multifocal lenses like that must be a bear to create, but worth their weight in unobtanium.

Bifocals, yes. I tried trifocals and didn't like how the mid and close vision sections were so small. I tried progressives and didn't like the distortions.

Now I have two pair of bifocals. I considered my usual activities while wearing trifocals, and found that sometimes I was going between middle and close, somerimes between distance and mid, and very rarely between distance and close. So now I have a pair of mid-close bifocals and a pair of distance-mid bifocals. It's very rare that I switch back and forth without keeping one pair on for a half hour or more.

I also have some +1 diopter readers that I place over the mid-close for extra close, fine work. I call them my booster glasses.

 

[jd2cylman]

Moved tools from this toolbox
Into this toolbox

I’ve been driving the truck since 2006. For three different companies. Got it brand new and put on almost all of the 198,000 miles myself . I was hoping to break 200,000 mi, but since the union debacle (long stois keeping me from doing service calls now, I’m officially retired from field service. Upside is I’ll be inside when it’s cold out. Downside is no more windshield time. I actually have to work all day…
Oh, and that’s besides this one that I already had…

Actually not just today, but all week and part of last week. As I’d use something out of the truck, when done it would be put in the new box, along with a handful of other tools during the trip…

 

[teepot]

I took a months worth of recycling in. It filled my pickups bed.

 

[Hobie1dog]

laid in bed with fatigue pulled myself out long enough to go eat Mexican with the Grandkids.

 

[Cl(VII)]

Picked this up. Sunday morning is gonna hurt.

 

[GrouchoDuke]

The center looks a trifle overexposed but...gorgeous regardless!

Yeah, the core is extremely bright compared to the rest of it. I did two different stretches and blended them together to get more detail in the core, but I didn't shoot any short duration shots to really bring it out. I kinda like the natural look of it being super bright...makes it look space to me.

 

[jqavins]

It filled my pickups bed.

Only once?

 

[John Kemker]

Finished and mailed the Christmas cards.
Tomorrow, neglected home maintenance.

I read the last sentence as, "Tomorrow, I'm going to neglect home maintenance." Just sayin'.

 

[Michael L]

I went out to the garage, temperature 25 degrees, and looked at my new TIG welder, still in the box. :/ it's too cold... back inside to work on rockets

 

[jqavins]

I read the last sentence as, "Tomorrow, I'm going to neglect home maintenance." Just sayin'.

So did I. It's good to plan ahead.

 

[Cape Byron]

Decided I'd better do some maintainence on the Brumby. I paid $4,500 for mine six years ago...

 

[Hobie1dog]

Went to a friend's 50th wedding anniversary party. Then drove over to the other side of the lake and met a guy at a storage facility to buy a Scroll Saw and the GD friggin Gate would not open, So both of us wasted a trip over there and Likely will have to wait until Monday sometime when they fix it. I guess the question is, he said the keypad appeared to be dead so what do the owners do to get into their own facility when the keypad is dead? and the guy who rents the storage unit will undoubtedly not get reimbursed for his troubles by having is rent partially refunded for the month. Tees me off having two different people become highly inconvenienced and the owners get to keep all of their money.

 

[jqavins]

Receiced official notice that my quarantine period is over. (Yes, I knew anyway; I can count.)

 

[Cape Byron]

Evaluated some of our test plantings to start thinking about more full-scale plantings next year.