Fetching the Deep Sky: Hestia —Comments Pt. 2
This blog entry is to report on my first real successes chasing deep sky images with my Hestia (a.k.a. Canis Minor) last night. I’m far...
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SmartStars
jsweitzer6
Mar 16 min read
Think of it like a New Puppy: Hestia Reflections Part 1
Canine Comparisons I like to tell people my smart telescopes are like good hunting dogs. They identify, track and find the faint traces...
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jsweitzer6
Feb 226 min read
Train Hard for the Big Eclipse! — Time to get in Shape with Your Smart Scope
Introduction — April 8 is Coming! I’m detecting a fair amount of anxiety and — frankly — some whining, about the upcoming North American...
126 views0 comments
jsweitzer6
Jan 99 min read
Forward into the Past! — Spacetime Basics for Smart Telescope Users
It's a New Year! — Ready for a blog posting about time? I’ve been seeing numerous questions online that involve coming to grips with the...
185 views0 comments
jsweitzer6
Nov 16, 20237 min read
Follow "The Way of St. James to the Field of Stars" with your Smart Telescope
I’m finally back online after a number of weeks of work on presentations about smart scopes as well as a couple on the JWST. I’m also now...
323 views0 comments
jsweitzer6
Oct 11, 20233 min read
Objects in the mirror are not closer than than they appear — How to gauge the objects in our images
I will first confess that I have more elaborate blog postings in the works, but I just haven’t been able to finish them this past month....
164 views0 comments
jsweitzer6
Sep 10, 20233 min read
Warp Drive Observing: Completing the Kessel Run in just 90 minutes!
I’m keen on using my smart telescopes for star parties. This coming Friday there will be a picnic at the “darkest” site in Cook County. I...
152 views2 comments
jsweitzer6
Aug 29, 20236 min read
Heavy Clouds Above a Star-Scape: Imaging the Original “Dark Matter” and “Black Holes”
J.M.W. Turner, Heavy Clouds Above a Landscape INTRODUCTION: OBSERVING “NOTHING” This week’s blog entry is about “nothing” seen against a...
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jsweitzer6
Aug 19, 20239 min read
To See or not to See … That is the Resolution Question
Three Image Quality Constraints Every Smart Telescope Owner Needs to Know INTRODUCTION This blog entry is about astronomical image...
708 views4 comments
jsweitzer6
Aug 11, 20237 min read
Hot! Hot! Hot! -- Observing the Sun with your Smart Scope
Galileo -- Our most famous early sunspot observer and theorist. It continues to be a very hot summer on the ground here in the US and in...
165 views0 comments
jsweitzer6
Aug 1, 20235 min read
Cluster Cluster Burning Bright.... How to Determine your Limiting Magnitude
Pretty soon I’m going to be making my yearly observation of Pluto. It’s not situated well along my horizon yet, so I’m getting ready. I...
241 views1 comment
jsweitzer6
Jul 13, 20237 min read
Out Out Damn Spots! .... Swatting at Celestial Gnats, Part 2
Maybe you don’t feel guilty about your astro imaging post processing (PP) the way Lady MacBeth did for her crime, but sometimes I do. I...
123 views5 comments
jsweitzer6
Jul 6, 20238 min read
Count your Lucky Stars: Swatting at Celestial Gnats, Part 1
I often see comments from smart telescope users who want to drastically shrink or even eliminate (!) foreground stars in their images of...
218 views1 comment
jsweitzer6
Jun 29, 20237 min read
Smoke Alarm-ed on Planet A!… Is it time to panic?
This past week I’ve began preparing a blog entry on the numbers of stars we can see with smart telescopes, but I had to stop and postpone...
100 views0 comments
jsweitzer6
Jun 12, 20234 min read
Hop, Skip and Jump to the Edge of the Universe! -- With your Smart Telescope
Most astronomy enthusiasts are familiar with the Charles and Ray Eames' film, "Powers of Ten," in which the animation zooms out a factor...
189 views1 comment
jsweitzer6
Jun 7, 20235 min read
Great Balls of Fire! — The Oldest Things You’ll Ever See
With so much to see with my smart scopes and so little time between the interference of the Moon, clouds and this year's damn Canadian...
158 views3 comments
jsweitzer6
Jun 1, 20237 min read
The GOT Filter — A Super-Cheap DIY Filter to Dramatically Improve your Galaxy Imaging
Now that I’ve calmed down about the supernova in M101 and galaxy season will be giving way to summer nebulae soon, I keep thinking about...
970 views0 comments
jsweitzer6
May 22, 20235 min read
Type II Supernovae Up Close and Personal
I take that title back a bit. You really don’t want to get too close to a supernova because there are so many types of lethal radiation...
278 views2 comments
jsweitzer6
May 20, 20231 min read
Supernova in M101 Alert!
I’m going to do a more extended blog entry on chasing down supernovas in nearby galaxies in the near future. It will have more of an...
316 views1 comment
jsweitzer6
May 17, 20236 min read
Stellar Starters
For us smart telescope owners every clear night is like a visit to a smorgasbord. I don’t know about others, but I have trouble...
220 views3 comments
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