Received a busted (astigmatic) telescope direct from SVBony. Here’s how we got it working.

Thanks to the Canada Post strike, this was my first and only Christmas card. Thanks Celestron!

So long California. Until next time…

Tonight’s magical sunset. Our last night in Carmel until next December.

How a $350 Smart Telescope tracks a drone. #SeestarS30.

Phone cameras are amazing. The dynamic range between the bright clouds and background stars (Jupiter near Auriga, and then Orion), is just mind boggling. #CityStargazing

Interesting how Unistellar’s “vivid vision technology” chooses to process the stars. This is an image of Open Cluster M38 taken a few days ago from the backyard.

A very out of focus Sirius (star) looks exactly like a Plasma Lamp. This is using a 100mm refractor and a planetary imaging camera. I’ve had two calls about this star from folks believing it is a UFO.

It took about 3 hours, but we successfully polar aligned the resurrected Abbey Ridge Observatory’s 20 year old C14. Had to swap a serial cable on the focuser, and install some plate solving software, but we got it done!

December 2024 UFO checklist:

Bright light in the West = Venus
Flickering light in the South East = Sirius
Bright light overhead = Jupiter
Bright red light in the East = Mars
Hovering bright orange ball = Coast Guard Flair
Bright and Moving = Space Station
Blinking = Airplane
Buzzing = drone

Putting these “Smart” telescopes to the test for an upcoming video. What are your thoughts on electronically assisted astronomy (EAA)? (Specifically eyepieces that are actually screens)

A relatively quiet day on the surface of the Sun.
(Unistellar Odyssey telescope with solar filter). #Astronomy

Need help choosing a telescope? My latest YouTube video is here to help! #telescope #stargazing A Telescope for Every Budget
youtu.be/-3XeWccswfU

My latest YouTube short (testing to see how BlueSky handles vertical YouTube videos): Top 5 Space Books for KIDS #space #science #stargazing #telescopes

Not sure what to post on here so here is a photo of our kitchen from today. When filming YouTube videos, I just add so many telescopes you can’t tell I’m in the kitchen.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen in the night sky?