The Nightwatch

[glend]

Last Monday, at the Central Coast IIS Morning Tea, Geoff-the-Owl and I were discussing our insomnia, and the nocturnal life. It occurs to me that there maybe others here on IIS, denizens of the night, who might appreciate a nocturnal thread to throw ideas about. I noticed that tonight Alex has had a couple of posts. Geoff-the-Owl is actually out at Bretti right now, but I suspect a report will be forthcoming on his return. So let The Nightwatch thread be your chat space in the wee hours, someone is sure to be listening. :question:

[The_bluester]

Joining you in insomnia today, though it is not the norm here.

In my case I am up as we just had to decide which of my wife and I took my mum in to hospital for COVID related issues (My wife as the more nearly negative, we have all had it over the last week) and who stayed home to look after our young bloke (Me)

We had to DIY the hospital trip as it is apparently a very high ambulance demand night and while mum remained in reasonable shape rather than deteriorating, an ambulance would have been around an hour. I am not objecting too much as the ambos would have taken her to a hospital that we have had some poor outcomes at, to the point her cardiologist a few months ago asked us to drive her to a different one rather than call an ambulance for a recent very urgent but not quite full on emergency trip as the ambos would have taken her to the "Not preferred" option.

[The_bluester]

Argh, and after all that, the local hospital is going to transfer her to the "Not preferred" option anyway.

Maybe this time we won't see really obvious issues missed. Last time they missed a 6+ hour atrial fibrillation event, while she was in a cardiac ward. Her implanted cardiac monitor picked it up and as soon as she got home to bed we got a call from her cardiologist when the monitor hooked up to it's base station and sent the report "home" to the cardiologist's office.

That was the one that resulted in them asking us to drive her in to a different hospital rather than call an ambulance again.

[glend]

Geez Paul, hospital in the wee hours is not an attractive proposition.
. I am sure they were following protocols. This case is complicated by her Covid status and i understand not wanting to hold her in a cardiac ward. Hope she is OK. Hopefully they have given her the Covid Antiviral drugs to stabilise her. They helped me a lot when I had Covid.

[The_bluester]

Actually the previous visit was nothing to do with COVID. That was for chest pain, which took a day to work out was pleurisy. Meantime she was complaining of palpitations and the loop was recording the fibrillation, while she lay in a bed next to a full suite of monitoring equipment that they never hooked her back up to after moving her out of emergency and in to the ward.

This morning is the COVID related event, she felt faint yesterday and the ambos came and assessed and it was decided best to keep her here (Meanwhile my wife had a wobbly moment so the ambos had to do a two for one deal and check her over too) but mum passed out this morning. It looks like they will bundle her out of there in short order unless the CT scan they did shows any sign of damage if she hit her head on the way down. That one I will give them credit for, they transferred her to the "Not preferred" hospital for the CT when they could not rule out her hitting her head.

[xelasnave]

Well I can check in every two hours when I get up to check the batteries?
But when imaging I get so busy I just dont know.
Actually I will take the tablet down as it connects to my modem from there...
Great idea Glen.

Alex

[AstroViking]

I'm far more of a night-owl, so being up all night is pretty much normal for me. If I didn't have to be at work each day, I'd probably end up inverting my day and night cycles...

Having said that, it's getting late, the rig is outside imaging away (oh, such sweet, sweet data!) and I'm inside thawing out.

[glend]

Hopefully Paul's mum is feeling better tonight. I will be checking in here tonight. Astro conditions are certainly outstanding here at Lake Macquarie tonight.
I just took a Sky Quality Meter (SQM) reading in my usual spot near my observatory. Of course the SQM doesn't work through cloud, but tonight is very clear, and the reading is 20.45 which is reasonably dark. When I first started recording SQM readings here, eight years ago, the readings were regularly around 20.85 to 20.90 .
Sadly the gradual deterioration of the Darkness is due to human factors, increasing population in the area, and it is clearly following the trends on the numbers from the Global Light Pollution Map recorded for this area. Still I am pretty lucky in the my spot is on the Peninsula, surrounded on three sides by Lake Macquarie with State Forest at my back fence. As a point of comparison, when we used to go out to Bretti Reserve past Gloucester, for Astro camps years ago, the sky there would always be well over 21.50, with the darkest recorded being 21.85. Hopefully your enjoying darkness tonight at your location.

[glend]

Still here. Just getting ready for quick visual look at Jupiter with my IStar f12 refractor. First time this year the IStar has been out of its storage place. Still fairly low in the ENE but it will be up fairly high before the dawn begins. :eyepop:

A Possum is watching me from his tree to the west. My red headlight reflects in his eyes. Spooky.

[glend]

While I had the iStar setup I added Ssturn to this mornings list. Up at 65 degrees in the NNW. Saturn is a better Moon show than Jupiter this morning.:thumbsup

That's all for me for now.

[Camelopardalis]

Hope you don’t mind the incursion from me :D I went through years of not sleeping properly, brain was overactive, found astro was my best way of relaxing through it. I am naturally more of a night owl though. Struggle a bit with daylight and the 9-5 really :lol:

[glend]

Hi Dunk, nice to hear from you. I am not sure what sleeping properly means amymore. The freedom of not having to work anymore, and not having a spouse, partner, et al, planning my every waking moment, means astronomy can happen whenever it's dark and I feel like it. So occasionally I binge.

[xelasnave]

You are a bad influence on us folk who try and lead normal lives sleeping normal etc...:lol::lol::lol:

Without a boss or wife I seem to have developed a funny approach to life..I live in a van ( although with a real house to go to if I wanted) basically a hermit chasing a hobby that is beyond my ability..it is all I do..other than visit my doctors...but I am not here to impress others but only to make myself happy and keep positive in the face of adversity.....and I do...

AND of course I blame you Glen mostly;)..you got me back into astro photography suggesting the best camera for me at the time and somehow giving me confidence to go on with it..you enabled me to get my first great refractor (115 mm) after the 80mm....AND it was you who sourced my observatory and directing my attention to the add for it sale... and it was you who sent me an add for the wonderful sports car I now own...AND got me interested in playing guitar again and even giving me a wonderful little baby fender...your guidance is invaluable...thanks for everything Glen

alex

[glend]

😊 I was just I trying to distract you from being sick.

[Camelopardalis]

Ha ha, you just roll with the punches and do what you enjoy IMO

[The_bluester]

Been off and very busy but yes, mum is doing much better now thanks Glen, back at home, though they did not really do too much towards working out why she went wobbly. Seems that it just goes with the territory. She was messaging with a friend in the US this morning, of a similar age, and seems she did about the same thing. Blacked out twice and woke to her dog licking her nose!

The rest of us are on the mend too, but it is a slow thing it seems. I felt fine today but 5 minutes work and I felt like a wet dishcloth.

[Drac0]

Enjoying this current clear run we're having here this week, been a long time since there has been a week this good, even longer for one around the new moon.

Hope everyone who has these clear skies are making the most of them.

Cheers,
Mark

[glend]

Mark, thanks for confirming the widespread good conditions. Although the cold makes it a bit challenging. My scope heater controller has been flat out at times. Alex has reported having to deal with ice.
I have enjoyed trying to pick out the smaller distant planets during this weekend's good Seeing period, and the planetary line up. The Ski jacket and pants has come in useful.
❄️

[oska]

I went nocturnal in the 90's, I love the night. I do all my work at night. I've got day sleeping down to an art. It has many benefits like when the kids were newborns I was already up. Steve, if you have the inclination it's a natural progression.

Alex, so not only is Glen a bad influence but he's an enabler too? Some people :rolleyes:

[Drac0]

The advantages of astrophotography over visual - I'm nice & warm inside. :P

Always been a night person, worked nights for many years. Was great as the kids were growing being able to be involved in things they were doing at school during the say. Only problem is now I care for my aged mother & she is always nagging about me being up at these times. :D

Cheers,
Mark

[xelasnave]

I passed out not long after my last post and woke up to find a clear night at about 8 pm but was so tired I could not even make dinner and thought it best to pass on imaging or risk death...at least it is nice and warm now at 6 degrees ...I am going to try and get more sleep and get back some energy.
Alex

[glend]

A good reminder that we all have limits. Take care.

[xelasnave]

I can't understand it as only three years ago I could manage very well on little sleep but now three or four nights up until 1 am and I can't take it...it's probably a side effect of the meds.

I just hope it's clear tonight so I dont regret wasting last night sleeping.

Its too cold (5c) to play the guitar so I will put off practice until it warms up.

Alex

[AstroViking]

Hi Mark,

Friday night here was as clear as clear can be. If I wasn't going somewhere on the Saturday, I'd have been up far later than I was. :(

As it was, I got enough data for a (in my opinion) stonkingly good image. The first bit of processing is done, and now I will sleep on it before deciding whether it needs a bit more. (Also tossing up between putting it in the beginner's section or take the leap into the big boy's room...)

Cheers,
V

[AstroViking]

Alex,

Given all the medical stuff you've just gone through, I'd be surprised if you were not tired. I know a bit about radiation treatment of cancers and it will knock anyone about - even a young and healthy person.

If it's possible for you, slow down a bit and let your body heal.

Regards,
V

[glend]

I have been doing a bit of late night reading about the new breed of automated telescopes, the auto start ones which bundle all sorts of goodies into one package, complete with live stacking of images. The little Dwarf is one, but the ZWO SeeStar model seems to good to be true at just $745. Sure the aperture is tiny by big scope standards, so don't expect great resolution, but for casual quick use as a wide field it's hard to beat for value.

https://www.bintel.com.au/product/zwo-seestar-s50-smart-telescope/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1rqkBhCTARIsAAHz7K3B p7BnRvmyIys4jxnO2-BgatkDvj_WP9WI3cq7Y9M1g6kov1ldkRcaA utJEALw_wcB

The Equinox versions much larger at 110m, and much more expensive, are including light pollution reduction software technology. The example photos are fairly impressive.

Still if ZWO can upside the SeeStar, say to 80 to 100mm, I would jump on that.

[glend]

Digging deeper on scope automation, the Unistellar EV2 brings bigger optics, and the light pollution reduction technology.

https://www.bintel.com.au/product/unistellar-evscope-2/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1rqkBhCTARIsAAHz7K1v te_9NYo4QRF6wpN-p9vgVe407nYhMjuwqEhrBKbinbEc42QL77E aAkSjEALw_wcB

But let's imagine what this scope could be if AI was involved.

If an AI has access to all sky plates, it then knows it can discard random low earth orbiting sats from the live view stack. I know from my use of Sharpcap for EAA, that the live stacking can already produce wonderful image streams.
My dream for that next generation of AI scopes, is for it to connect to my big screen TV via the house wifi network and stream it's stack, with controls to save images when told.

With light pollution reduction, sat elimination, and casting to the TV or laptop, I would be a happy, and warm, old guy on a night like this.

:eyepop:

And if it can produce great light pollution rejection in locations like Brisbane, Gold Coast, etc, using AI enhancement, imagine the growth in astronomy as a hobby.

[glend]

My weather station is telling me that it has just achieved its lowest reading for this year, at 2C and we still have a couple of hours till sunrise.
I was talking to my son late yesterday about how age alters one's views of the cold, and tolerance. Being a Canadian originally i know something about deep cold, but being in my mid 70s has changed my mind somewhat. Past treks to the train station in the dark, snowy, -20 mornings do not seem to have prepared me for temps nearing freezing here by an Australian lake.

What is your take on age related cold tolerance alteration?

[AstroViking]

Call me old fashioned, but that feels like cheating to me. If an AI / machine learned tool goes and does all the work for you, would there be any sense of achievement?

I feel that the hobby would devolve to picking a random target from a catalogue, pressing the 'Go" button and waiting for the image to appear on the big screen. Doesn't seem like much of a challenge to me.

I do astrophotography because it's difficult. I enjoy the challenge of teasing out an image of something that's invisible (and a huge distance away) with the equipment I have from the location I am in. I would get totally bored of it, very quickly, if all I had to do was push a button and wait for a Hubble-quality image to appear.

Regards,
V

[AstroViking]

The same as you - I spent several years in Canada as a child and have vivid memories of being outside when it was -40 Celsius.

Now, if it gets below +10 Celsius I'm grumbling about how cold it is.

Cheers,
V

[doug mc]

Yes, speeding up the process of dumbing down the population. I am no conspiracy theorists, but it's not hard to see problems with AI.

[xelasnave]

I want one of those auto scopes and a little remote controlled model truck with the scope mounted on the back..nothing fancy just functional and reliable..able to come into its parking bay under the van and connect to its charging station to re charge both it and the scope... and yes I find pushing the button more difficult each day ..but I saw this add where they are offering a switch that attaches with a sticky back when you pull off the protective stripe and it operates via your phone to switch on or off most things..now add voice control and we a getting there...so I envisage driving the little truck out from under the van, watching it via the security cameras parking it on its little pad and pressing the go button by remote and having the photos processed after they download on my phone...

I like the photos for the effort involved, the character building process one goes thru maintaining the gear, funding the hobby, capturing and processing but most of all I like the time I take to learn about the object that I have captured and gazing at the image and just trying to grasp the sheer size of what I am looking at and most of all wondering about the possible life and even if there are countless civilizations within the field of view that I have captured.

alex

[glend]

Alex, for your next project:

https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/hnoc-clf:266

[xelasnave]

See the doughnut not the hole.

Already so many people do not think.

But for people who do think AI holds the promise of highly increased productivity...I have sometimes thought of writting a book but my time is far too precious to waste merely to pass on my ideas as unique as they may be, someone else will do it ...but looking at AI..that chat thing..it seems I can throw out a few ideas and an outline of direction and AI can do the hard yards...

Heck say for a Lawyer...so many things can benifit from AI..a brief for a Barrister ( done properly) takes just so much effort but with AI throw out the facts and references and let it put it into the desired form.

It seems that many folk just are along for the ride rarely thinking and accepting the repeated myths designed to control them and I doubt if they ever have an original idea given that you only find them slaves to fashions and customs of the day with their understanding of the world delivered by Hollywood. All our research still sees nut jobs selling cancer cure for $29-95 on the net and countless dumb dumbs buying their crap...Just look around and ask if you could make that non thinking element of the population dumber even with eternal Government funding...

Fortunately the non thinkers won't think less and the thinkers will use AI to create a better world...for them:D

Alex

[Camelopardalis]

I had a bit of a chuckle at your expense Glen, but I kinda understand the effect. I think we acclimatise to our environment over time. Having grown up in pommieland where it is far less extreme, where you break out the shorts and t-shirts at a roasting 17C… I’m kinda used to Brisbane now, and anything below 20 is chilly, and single digits is positive Antarctic :rofl:

Age-related tolerance… isn’t that down to age-related grumpiness :P (just kidding of course)

On a serious note, I’d expect that there may be some effect related to circulation, etc, but I’m no specialist in that area.

[glend]

OK Dunk, maybe I can blame my blood pressure medication.:rofl:

[glend]

So from tomorrow Summer is on the way.

:welcome:

[The_bluester]

I always see sometime around September as when I can think summer is coming. More or less when I can expect to see my first glimpse of Orion for the season at a star party.

[glend]

At this time of year we always have suggestions about keeping warm while engaged in Astro activities. But what about the follow up? Who bought what and did it live up to the advertising?
I was in my local Chemist yesterday and there by the checkout was a display box of those chemical hand warmers. Do people actually buy them still? I recall taking a few out to the Bretti dark site years ago, and found they were too hot for too short a time. And what about the electric socks that pop up on ebay, have you tried those? What are you prepared to endorse?

I am willing to endorse simple scope heater straps as hand warmers, at least in an observatory setting, where my heater strap controller is fixed to my pier. The nice thing about the heater strap is you can regulate the temperature with a dial..

[gaseous]

I used those "hot hands" pads while trekking to Everest Base Camp a few months ago, and found they worked quite well. A little bulky if you needed your hands for fine-motor uses, but for just marching along a path they lasted for hours and certainly took the chill out of gloved hands. I wish I'd had some at Esk last Friday where it was freezing digits that necessitated an early(ish) bedtime.

[glend]

Tonight I have been watching my favorite planet, Saturn do a ring dance. As the hours have ticked by the aspect of rings (viewed from Earth) has changed.it was actually like watching a child's spinning top toy spin wobble. Check it out in Sky Safari if you want a fast animation over the last four hours. Nice line up of moons with the planet equator. Wish I had though to set up for EAA so I could have recorded a sequence.

Equipment used was my homebuilt iStar 127 R30 Anastigmatic , f12, carbon strut refractor on the CGX with a few of my favorite EPs and 2x Barlow; and my one good eye. Good seeing here, as the wind has died off completely.:eyepop

[glend]

My weather app tells that rain is about to start, and I will lose a whole day to it. With the further bad news that the high temperature today is only going to reach 13C. The good news is that my little car resto project is going to get some accelerated curing of the Sikaflex sealant layer down yesterday (it is air moisture cured).
So nothing astro to report tonight, the sky has already clouded over. Apparently wind will appear again. A good day to stay indoors and not risk getting sick again.
:cloudy:

[xelasnave]

It was clear here but I used the Moonlight to give astro a rest and chase much needed sleep...pretty warm in the van at 9c.
alex

[alan meehan]

I cannot imagine some of the temp you guys are talking about -20 ,it got down to -5 at duckadang once i neally died from shivering i even lit my portable stove in my tent ,it great to have had (past tense) some clear skies for a change the 10inch in the observatory need the cobweds blown off .i too suffer with poor sleep now use a cpap machine and can only sleep in a recliner chair nowdays lucky if i get 5 to 6 hrs sometimes less but i do nap in day as well ,but i do enjoy late observing runs ,hey Glen i spent the day yesterday doing a oil change on the KJ what a mission oil filter in the middle of the motor ,now ive just brought a zwo camera and guide scope to mount on my GTI mount and ed80 looking forward too some sleepless nights once more

[raymo]

I was Second Engineer on a bulk carrier back in the mid sixties, and we tied up in Seven Islands in Canada. I went up to the bridge for a chat with the deck officer of the watch. We went out onto the wing of the bridge for a smoke.
I leant against the wheelhouse while I lit up. I had my first puff and it burnt all the way down. I tried to lean forward to cough, and my uniform jacket split down the seam; it was stuck to the metal. Went into the bridge and checked the temperature -42c.
As each iron ore truck advances one truck length along the wharf it is
inverted and steam hoses play over it until the whole 100 tons falls out in one huge lump into a pit where it shatters when it hits the bottom.
Every piece of rotating machinery on the ship that is likely to be used before the ship reaches warmer climes is kept running,[including the main engine at dead slow ahead, 15rpm] except the windlass and the capstan which obviously can't be rotating all the time. A steam hose was played on them for an hour before they were needed.
raymo

[glend]

I know they are out there, some of you have told me. Under beds, in the shed. Stacked in a corner of the observatory. Still in their original boxes, some have never been out of the box. Come on confession time. How many, why did you buy them?

:lol:

[GTB_an_Owl]

i'm sure h0ughy has a book with every possible excuse one could use ;)

geoff

[xelasnave]

I gave my eight inch and my old EQ6 to my Son in Law because I know if they sat there any longer I would put in another pier and get another set up operational... I regret it now...but four is still three too many...

Alex

[alan meehan]

Is eight too many.sorry nine

[xelasnave]

Is 3 am OK for guitar practice?
I watched one of Astro Biscuits videos where he seemed to suggest that a GSO eight inch was about the best darn telescope out there and now I think I should have put in another pier.
Alex

[glend]

Alex, you can play the guitar any time, just as I do. Although I do have one of Donner's silent guitars, which has a headset and an internal amp. I have neighbours so cranking up my house amp is not an option at night, but you can play for the stars.

I agree that the GSO 8 inch f5 newt is a great scope, and I had one for years. Very good mirrors. F5 is a sweet spot for newts in my experience. I sold mine to Chris from Sydney I think.
Do you have room for another pier? Or just rotate with an existing pier

[xelasnave]

Glen there is room for one more in the big observatory and I found myself flip flopping between putting one more in or not...the thing was really the 8 inch needed the tube being fixed cause the seam was just terrible, also a better focuser in my view and I would have had to buy it it's own camera and filter wheel, guide scope or OAG but I did have a zwo mini toward its build ...unfortunately my health issues really make more projects more difficult than in the past and so I felt it prudent to give the eight inch and mount away so I was not tempted .... anyways I would not mind another zwo harmonic mount with a 9.25 inch;)... AND really just keeping what I have running, adjusted, cleaned etc is certainly for me a lot of work...plus looking after the van, the block etc..its a lot for anyone...

It will be interesting to see if my Son in Law can manage to get the gear up and running and gets into the hobby..the mount needs a pull down and of course the scope needs collmination...normal stuff we take for granted but coming in to the hobby it could be just too much for him. If he can manage he could see a lot of gear in the future.

Anyways I have so much to still do..Ethernet cable from the van to the observatory and I am going over to Pixinsite as I am convinced it will solve my colour issues.

4 degrees C in the van earlier and the car outside in covered in ice...happily I feel warm.

Alex

[OzEclipse]

Alex,

A judge in the US recently fined a lawyer who filed a case prepared by AI that contained fictional citations.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-24/us-lawyer-uses-chatgpt-to-research-case-with-embarrassing-result/102490068

I guess he would fall into the non-thinkers category.

Joe

[xelasnave]

Anyone who wanders from the truth I submit really does not think things thru... and anyone who presents material as their own are not thinking if they merely submit same without personal review...non thinkers are typically lazy...many a boss has been embarrassed by signing letters prepared by his secretary and failing to read what he is signing...non thinkers are much more common then most people would think in my personal and professional experience...

In my example of a Lawyer using AI to do the hard yards in preparing a brief for a Barrister would be truely a non thinker if he did not read the final product before he sent it off to the barrister...AND whether that brief is printed up by a secretary or AI you are a non thinker and lazy if you sign it without checking it...

Thanks for the link.

Alex

[glend]

As fellow insomniacs will know, the quest for remedy is endless. Tonight I ran across a product on Amazon that might help. It's a fabric headband like low profile headset which can be used by sleepers, called the Musicozi.


https://www.amazon.com.au/MUSICOZY-Headphones-Wireless-Bluetooth-Headband/dp/B0B9WP1CZS/ref=asc_df_B0B9WP1CZS/?tag=googleshopdsk-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=649952428764&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10275830201953618381&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1000286&hvtargid=pla-1873338564706&psc=1

So i ordered one to test it out as a sleep aid. It's cheap as well.


I was actually looking for something else, a 3.5mm plug wireless system (not Bluetooth frequency) that could be used to transmit a travel guitar headset 3.5mm output signal to a portable amp input (this could not be Bluetooth because I am using my phone Bluetooth to pull backing tracks off of Utube and into my left ear, and Bluetooth cannot multitask in that way, as two separate signal paths).

It could possibly be the 5.8ghz signal path off a 3.5mm male plug on either end, and there are plenty of guitar 6.5mm jack wireless systems that work off that frequency. However I need it to be small and not have to use a 3.5mm to 6.5mm converter.

The search continues.

[xelasnave]

I have a couple of recordings on my phone of rain on an iron roof and one of a blizzard which are great ...switch on one and I now fall asleep almost immediately but I still wake up every two or three hours...

Alex

[glend]

Thanks Alex, I have tried a bunch of those sleep sound tracks, most are just annoying. But I hope with the sleep headphones I can find success. I refuse to resort to taking drugs or supposed sleep enhancement supplements. If anyone can vouche for the over the counter remedies then let me know. Thanks.

[glend]

Yes, I was reminded tonight of all the crap that passes for wisdom on the internet, and how easy it has become to build up a passionate advocacy for stupidity.
Can you give us an example of "internet wisdom" that has caught you out, had you reaching for the Visa card, or writing a response?
:question:

[xelasnave]

Yesterday I nearly bought a drone worth over $1000 for only $140 but I thought maybe that it was too good to be true.
Alex

[toc]

I think I helped innoculate myself to a lot of that stuff in my early 20's when I went down the wannabe audiophile rabbithole. Not that I had money back then, but I do remember treating my CDs with green pens and amourall spray.

Really thought I could tell a difference until my friend had the same untreated copy of Dark Side of the Moon and we did blind tests :rofl:

Learned to have a healthy skepticism in life, including myself :thumbsup:

[Boozlefoot]

How many, why did you buy them?

14, because "I had to have them."

10" LX850 on MI250 in dome obs.
12" Alt/Az Newt, exterior mount.
10" LX050, spare for dome obs/visitors starhopper.
10" Cave? OTA which I pipemount.
8"RC for solar - CG5GT on outside pier.
6" truss newt - desilvered for lunar
6" refractor - starhopping - assess whether to crank up the dome
125 Mak - for visitors
80mm Unitron spotter for birding
60mm Unitron 114 - because everybody has one
Tasco 7TE - because Unipol is a great salesman:rofl: (It's lovely)
RA61 - My unicorn and my most precious. "My Precioussss". (Not for sale!)
TAL1 - Close to mint, great for its age.
114 Meade - given to me, now being restored to give to neighbour.

We won't talk about the eyepieces.................... :eyepop:

[glend]

My daughters family are stuck in Sicily at the moment. Sadly their dream holiday has turned into an ordeal. Temperatures are predicted to hit 48C over the next few days. They are suppose to fly out tomorrow to Greece but the weather there is just as bad.
With three girls age 8 and under, the kids are not coping well.
Complicated by the fact that accommodation providers them out of their apartment in the heat of the day, which will force them to sit at Palermo airport through the heat waiting for their flight to Greece.
Europe is experiencing a real climate emergency.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66212501

[glend]

My daughter's family had their flight out of Sicily cancelled.. The scene at the airport bordered on chaos, with a lot of very upset Italians getting very loud and abusive to the airline staff. This left my two youngest granddaughters in tears. The cancellation was due to heat effects on the aircraft and inability to cool it down, as it was like an oven inside. My family had to go back to Palermo and find a hotel that night. The airline made no effort to secure them accommodation. My son-in-law was out at 11pm looking for a place to buy dinner for the girls. No idea what today has brought. I suggested he ring DFAT hotline, as the welfare of the girls was a concern. :shrug:

[AstroViking]

Who else is "on duty" tonight?

It's the first real clear night down here in a month, so I have the scope out and happily capturing photons right now.

Glen - that's a sh*t-show of a situation. I hope your family are able to get out of there OK. Do their circumstances allow them to take a ferry to the Italian mainland and then a train to Rome for a flight home? Not a super practical (and probably highly expensive!) option, sadly.

Regards,
V

[glend]

Yes Steve, I am "on duty" staying in touch ith my daughter via What's App. All the options are very expensive, because there are five of them. They managed to get booked for a flight to Rome, then on another flight to Athens arriving at 1am local time. They have to stay in an airport hotel for $600 for one night. Then they think they can get a flight to the Greek island where they have booked accommodation. Net lost so far $5600 to get out of Sicily and on their way. But no confirmation yet that any of that is actually happening. Thry have travel insurance but the climate crisis is an Act of God, apparently mankind had nothing to do with it.

[Nikolas]

Catching some photons tonight but on the eq3 mount so it's not the most stable in terms of guiding but much better since the regreasing. At least to morrow mornig get up, unplug then plonk everything indoors before going to work and the rain hits in the afternoon.

[glend]

I can finally relax my Euro Climate Crisis watch. My daughters family has made it to Greece after three flights to escape Sicily. The island they are now on is expecting just 36C today, which is balmy by Australian standards. The girls will certainly have a big adventure story for their primary school ftiends.

I have removed my CGX mount from the observatory for maintenance, a check of the belts and adjustment of the drive cogs. It has been an incredible reliable mount thus far and is one of the first of the CGXs imported by Bintel . My early drive mod threads are still here in the archives, and on Cloudy Nighrs, if you care to search for them. Cheers

[xelasnave]

Got in a great night imaging with both the Askar and RASA performing nicely:thumbsup:.

I had cleaned the sensor on the OSC on the RASA and was expecting some problems but it behaved thank goodness:).

Just now I closed up ( at 3-00 am ) with ice everywhere.

The roof motor had disengaged ( presumably due to the cold warping the roof) but happily it closed easily with a gentle push.

I must be getting soft as I don't ride the mower down there now but drive my little white car and leave the motor running , to take advantage of the heater, after I have shut things off...so I get to warm up a little .. it is warmer back in the van where it is a toasty 5 degrees.

I can't wait to gather up the data a little later and see just how the images turn out....



alex

[glend]

Nice to hear that things are working more smoothly for you now Alex. :thumbsup:

[xelasnave]

Wow..slept from about 9 pm to 2am ..that shows that I must have been exhausted,...I set up both the Askar and RASA to harvest some photons and went back to the van and passed out watching proceedings on my tablet...when I woke up I thought that was well timed..the scopes will be parked and I will just close up...but when I got down there both scopes had not flipped and everything was shut down...the inverter had shut off presumably because the batteries got low...oh well...and ice on the scopes the chair etc...so start the genny rather than go to bed..ran a 240 volt lead to a spot light that can be a 400 watt heater turned on two fans, threw over the scopes a couple of sheets ( I find they are better to help drying out stuff) and just left the scopes where I found them ..I will send them home in the light of day.

AND of course being so cold the roof had lifted the gears off the track and so I closed it by hand...really lucky that my back is better than it was.

Looking at my remote thermometer in the van it has warmed up in the observatory to minus .2 ...mmm toasty ...and 6 in the van.

Tonight I saw a rabbit, a walaby and a bandicout which was neat..the bandicout was just outside the van..I could see him in the dark better than he could see me I think..but so cute..he was pretty small so young I guess...I am sure it wasn't a big rat.

Oh well it's near time for my meds so that worked out well.

alex

[glend]

I am back, from my annual trip to Qld to visit my son's family, and as usual catch the latest sickness the young girls are sharing from their pre-school.
It was eerily quiet returning to my little house by the Lake, after the constant jabbering and activities of the little girls, but at least my health is improving.
I had an interesting stop over in Coffs Harbour on the way back, where I found myself in the middle of some sort of Horse person convention, while staying at the Opal Cove Resort. I have never seen so many folks decked out in RM Williams gear, and frankly smelling of horses. It turns out I stumbled into the venue for the off track social and trade event taking place during the running of the Coffs Cup. The car park was full of Horse floats and big 4WDs. The lobby and restaurants were full of Horse product displays and people with wine glasses giving speeches and promoting books. A different experience.

And now, back in the observatory, I am getting ready for the coming spring, with a good cleanup and reinstall of the refurbished CGX mount on the pier. Some maintenance work to do on the track rollers, and the ceiling insulation.

The rigours and constant intrusion of arthritis, hampers any sort of serious work on cars, house or yard; but does not stop my astronomy -so far, once I get the ED150 back on the mount with my neighbor's help.
Look after yourselves.;)

[Sunfish]

Good to hear your family is out of that. Sounds like a nightmare.

I know what it is like having kids overseas through the pandemic, various floods , riots and random attacks. One feels pretty helpless. With children it would be so much more complex.

Awake at 5 am myself today.

My daughter is on Corsica last week and it is very hot there but luckily no fires. Shame about Sicily . My kids really enjoyed that last year.

Ah, the horse crowd really is a different world. They do keep the paddocks dark and clean and green.

Cheers
Ray

[Boozlefoot]

The pending weather front coming has finally gotten me off my backside, the new gearbox for the MI250 installed/tested and the Gemini reset. Tonight's seeing was above average, and made me realise just how spoilt I am to have such a fantastic site, literally at my backdoor. I can only wonder how others persist in their battle with light pollution.

[glend]

My recent trip to Brisbane served as another reminder of how fortunate I am to live in a place with a night sky vista. In Brisbane it was pointless to look up at night, even to get your bearings,. I was more likely to see an aircraft, or that very Brissy orange glow that lines the major highways. I realise some people do think they need to live in big cities, and have their justifications for doing so. But if you love the natural world, and seeing the universe we call home, then make your plan to escape.;)

[glend]

Listening to the rain on the roof would normally help me sleep, but the Arthritis mostly picks the night time to create it's misery. Do I get up to take Panadol? It brings to mind the old Huey Lewis song:

https://youtu.be/N6uEMOeDZsA

Here's hoping the night denizens similarly afflicted can get the rest they need.

Several days, and nights of East coast rain are hampering the opening of the observatory for Spring. Wishing clear sky to all.:thumbsup:

And just a few more hours of sleep.

[xelasnave]

I can help Glen...keep the Panadol by the bed and a bottle of water...in a little box under the bed..move some guitars...and laying on that garage floor working on that beautiful new car should help.;)...

Me...sleeping great these days... but I can hardley walk cause of the pain in the feet but the good news is it does not effect my driving one bit...life is good...

I had the girls buy me some prawns, mozzarella cheese and puff pastry yesterday so today I am going to invent a prawn and mozzarella pie:D It should be a healthy dish as I have some baby spinach to add. Hmmmm I don't have a pie dish so I guess they will have to be a pasty shape..a prawn puff pastry ... plus I will make some sausage rolls cause they got me some really nice beef sausages...it really is wonderful that you can buy puff pastry already made as it is just so difficult to make...life is good.

alex

[AstroViking]

The rig is up and running, busily testing a new lens for my DSLR - a catadioptric 1000mm monster.

I'd forgotten how difficult manual focusing is, and how slow the DSLR is to transfer images to the laptop. These fancy toys like EAFs and USB3-equipped astro-cams have spoilt me.

It's clear and (for me) very cold outside - heading for a low of 1, 0 or -1, depending on which forecast I look at, so I'm huddled inside trying to stay warm.

Alex - how did the prawn puff pastry cooking go? Did they turn out edible?

Cheers,
V

[xelasnave]

Hi Steve,

The Prawn triangles ended up sortta square but rather delicious.

I have enough ingredients to make heaps more besides a few already frozen...

AND the sausage rolls, because of the great sausages, are the best I have ever made.
So a great and successful day of cooking.

I got maybe five drops of rain which was great because I planted some parsley, mint and a tomato plant before cooking yesterday..it is only a very small patch but nice to have as an interest..right by the ramp into the van so I can give them a glass of water without leaving the ramp...but even at the cost of loss of imaging time some rain would be nice.

alex

[glend]

Alex, next time your at a Bunnings store have a look at their drip irrigation parts. Your little veggie garden could be fully automated, and I know you love the tech stuff.:thumbsup:
Thanks for the Panadol tip, it was already there next to my water glass. My medical paranoia extends to my small oxygen bottle and my nitrolingual spray. Like the Boy Scout motto says Be prepared.

[xelasnave]

Well I dug a small hole along side the ramp near the stuff I have put in and put all the prawn shells and remains in the bottom with some clippings over that and put the soil back mixed with clippings...prawn remnants are great to grow stuff... and put more parsley in... I get beautiful eggs from the girls and I do like scrambled eggs but with no parsley I don't bother..I can wait for that first serving of great eggs and my own parsley.
AND with the mint I plan to make mint jelly to go on my barbequed lamb leg that I cook on the rotisserie...I always forget to buy it.

AND the tomatoes already has a flower..I only got it on Monday.

Finally got the 80mm working in its outside location... and can control it via my phone in bed as the wifi signal is good and I dont need ethernet.

I had the Askar and RASA going but cloud came over so I shut down and closed the roof covered them up switched off everything and ,locked up but by the time I got back to the 80mm it was clear again so I reset it and let it run...

Heck I have been so involved with stuff I forgot my meds...

alex

[xelasnave]

I found that my darling little bandicout dug up my prawns yesterday morning so I filled in the hole, happily he did not disturb the parsley...but I went out just now and he has dug it up again.:sadeyes:..so in the morning I will drive the crow bar into the ground where I was going to dig another patch and push down some corn beef and he can dig it up for me;)
But he is really pushing the friendship as there are holes all over the place...I may try feeding him regularly so he gives up on digging so many holes.
I may set up a security camera so I can get a couple of photos..that would be nice.
alex

[RB]

You should play “Dark Side of the Moon” to him Alex.

:lol:

[xelasnave]

Well what a great night..I just now finished closing up the observatory and covering the 80mm which is outside.

Getting heaps of data via the Askar of Corona Australia and started on the Helix to see how it handles that...and the 80mm ..started on the Veil to train the rig up for M31 which I started on later ...fortunately there was no dew or fog.

So I will probably sleep all day so I can manage another run tonight.

I left out some corn beef for the bandicout and he finished it off within 15 minutes of me putting it out, and also two more portions a couple of hours apart...and a sheet of uncooked puff pastry that I forgot to put in the fridge...(and am I sick of prawn pies I guess I made too many.:D)

alex

[xelasnave]

Talk about stuff that builds you character...10 hours over three nights on Corona Australia ( magic looking subs) 300 @ 2 minute subs ( getting 10 hours with dithering and focusing and a flip takes much more than 10 hours) I decided to clear some space on the memory stick in the Asiair... the result was I lost all of it..all gone...but at least I realise how it happened.. there is a tick to mark what you wish to delete...what I know now is if you press it twice ( which I mustta done) it selects everything..and so when I pressed delete it all went...so new rule..never delete with stick in Asiair..just in case...late and tired mistakes happen...third night with little sleep.

The good thing is I found out how it happened later so at least I knew how...

Also I had about hour and half of Helix that went as well.

On the bright side M31 via the 80 mm is going well. The 80mm is running a proto type baffled dew tube which should help contrast greatly.

But the thing is you just have to get over it and not let it ruin your day...but I hope others may remember my sad experience and just avoid deleting stuff while the stick is in Asiair and leave it until you have the stick in the computer that way you can get it out of the recycle bin if you make a mistake.



alex

[glend]

Character building Alex. But you certainly have enough already. I hope your legs are improving. Myself, I have been stuck in Sydney for a few days, sheparding the grand daughters and teaching them guitar. Still dreaming of the family band.:lol:

[Sunfish]

I did not know bandicoots we’re interested in seafood. They dig up my lemon tree roots to eat those and leave ankle breaking holes to trap astronomers.

I have heard they eat spiders and subterranean fungi like truffles, thus the super nose, and perhaps they like the smell of prawns too.

I should try some prawns and some truffle oil to lure them away from the telescope mount spot.

[xelasnave]

He likes the corn beef:lol:
AND I threw out some uncooked puff pastry for the raven the next day but he had that also.
alex

[glend]

I just wanted to bring up the importance of long term consideration of your image library, and preparing it for self reliance should you walk away for various reasons.
By self reliance, I am referring to having the important images hosted professionally. I use Astrobin myself, and the modest annual subscription ensures I never have to be concerned about my gallery.
Many, if not most of us, will go through cycles in our imaging lives. It is very common for there to be periods of intense, maybe nightly activity, extending months or more, followed by burn out, recovery, and renewed interest.
I still get messages from Astrobin users that have found my image gallery and send positive posts, ask questions about technique, equipment, etc. These are very often people fairly new to imaging and it serves to share the body of knowledge. As a medium it provides global sharing far beyond the reach of IIS, and even if retire completely it will still be there.

[Sunfish]

👍 Good Plan.