Nostr notes by Anthony Horton

For anyone who'd like to get a picture of the new dwarf ...

2026-10-28T00:41:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…ja3s
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For anyone who'd like to get a picture of the new dwarf planet with their own telescope here's the Minor Planet Electronic Circular: https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K26/K26U85.html

This includes ephemeris for the next few weeks plus the orbital elements to calculate more. Brightness is about 20th magnitude which shouldn't be too hard for telescopes from around 12" diameter and upwards.

#Astronomy #Astrodon #Astrophotography

More details in the press release from NOIRLab: ...

2026-10-28T00:18:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…9uec
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More details in the press release from NOIRLab: https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2626/

#Astrodon #Astronomy #VeraRubinObservatory

New planet just dropped: ...

2026-10-28T00:14:22Z

New planet just dropped:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NIwXWwKOpw

#Astrodon #Astronomy #VeraRubinObservatory

Oh, anyone reading this thread as result of @npub1fdr…lvhs ...

2026-10-25T12:35:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…j769
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Oh, anyone reading this thread as result of Cory Doctorow (npub1fdr…lvhs) boosting my quote toot would probably also appreciate this. Excellent (albeit depressing) analysis of AI as an enclosure movement for the information commons: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.27251

Money people are very clever and extremely rational, which is why ...

2026-10-25T12:23:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…3xs7
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Money people are very clever and extremely rational, which is why the only companies whose share values aren't falling through the floor are the ones who have made enormous losses for the entire time that they've been doing what they're doing. This is cool and normal and if you think otherwise you're just not smart enough to understand the importance of Number Go Up.

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/117501317286872418 This is ...

2026-10-25T11:59:55Z

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/117501317286872418

This is fine.

quoting
note1yyn…sykg

This analyst's report from Apollo about AI uses the term "S&P 493" to refer to the "S&P 500 minus the Mag 7" - because if you take out the AI companies, the S&P 500 is tanking. https://www.apollo.com/wealth/insights-news/insights/daily-spark/no-signs-of-ai-payoff-outside-the-tech-sector

"It's hard to stop scammers using our phone numbers ...

2026-10-22T06:37:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…r46l
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"It's hard to stop scammers using our phone numbers because 500 overseas randos we sell Australia numbers to on-sell those numbers to thousands more randos each, with no oversight from us."

Maybe don't do that, then? At least stop the on-selling.

Why is wholesaling Australian phone numbers in bulk to randos ...

2026-10-22T05:34:59Z

Why is wholesaling Australian phone numbers in bulk to randos overseas a business that exists? Are there any legitimate use cases at all for this?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-22/vodafone-aussie-broadband-company-symbio-carrying-scam-calls/107282346

The branding is "ACook by Buffalo", and the model is ...

2026-10-19T12:40:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…ccnl
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The branding is "ACook by Buffalo", and the model is described as "Stainless Steel No Coating Chemical Free Classic Rice Cooker (5-Cup)". They also do a 10 cup version.

I replaced our rice cooker recently (it still functioned fine, ...

2026-10-18T22:41:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…c5zh
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I replaced our rice cooker recently (it still functioned fine, but the non-stick coating on the bowl was beginning to come apart) and went out of my way to get another traditional magnetic one. They are indeed getting hard to find except at the cheap and nasty end of the market but I was eventually able to find a decent one with a stainless steel bowl. With the incredibly simple design and no non-stick coating it should outlive me.

Meanwhile the students are protesting being fobbed off with ...

2026-10-15T06:19:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…pgs4
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Meanwhile the students are protesting being fobbed off with chatbot tutorials.

The grubby fingerprints of consultants are all over this. ...

2026-10-14T22:24:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…es7y
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The grubby fingerprints of consultants are all over this. It's good business for them.

'[Inquiry chair and Labor MLC] Dr Sarah Kaine was also critical of the role played by consultants, describing them as "at best complicit in the crisis" and "at worst architects of it", while benefiting financially from reform programs.'

Oh look, Macquarie University (and University of Wollongong, ...

2026-10-14T22:11:04Z

Oh look, Macquarie University (and University of Wollongong, University of Technology Sydney, the University of Newcastle, Charles Sturt University and Western Sydney University) are in the news.

"Inquiry finds six NSW universities appeared to overstate financial woes to justify job cuts"

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-15/nsw-university-financial-models-job-cuts-inquiry/107244202

I have recently had a glimpse of the other side of this. One of ...

2026-10-09T06:29:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…me0t
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I have recently had a glimpse of the other side of this. One of my other colleagues is highly dependant on Claude for everything, and has been working with a couple of contract programmers on creating some new telescope automation software for a couple of their projects. I got asked to help a bit on the hardware side and came away low key horrified.

While the systems they had created mostly worked most of the time it was apparent that none of them had any idea how it worked and could not do anything new with it without getting Claude to do it for them. At one point I asked what I thought was a trivial question, "how do I see the serial numbers of the currently connected hardware?" and the answer was "I'll ask Claude." What followed was 10 minutes of the chatbot trying random stupid things with a running commentary of fake post-hoc justifications masquerading as a thought process until it by chance stumbled upon something that seemed to work and some numbers came out. I pointed out that a quicker check was needed, so Claude was prompted again and eventually spat out a shell script that appeared to do the same thing.

This brute force automated trial and error approach to producing software had produced some superficially impressive results in a short period of time, but the whole thing seemed incredible fragile, utterly dependant on continued unfettered access to Claude in perpetuity and completely unmaintainable otherwise.

I remain convinced that If you generate code by throwing-shit-at-the-wall-and-seeing-what-sticks at scale then the end result will inevitably be a big mess.

This did not surprise me in the slightest, BTW. It's a great ...

2026-10-09T05:40:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…saw2
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This did not surprise me in the slightest, BTW. It's a great group with an excellent culture, which stems from the two joint-managers. They've built a diverse team and fostered a culture of genuine mutual respect and support, encouraging personal development and celebrating achievements. When you value people above all and take pride in your work you're naturally going to be unimpressed by LLM code generators.

I'm very proud of my colleagues from our Research Data & ...

2026-10-09T05:17:18Z

I'm very proud of my colleagues from our Research Data & Software group. One of the young female software engineers gave a seminar yesterday about the modernisation of our 30 year old in-house library for telescope & instrumentation control, and afterwards someone asked about using LLMs for this sort of thing. She did *not* hold back in her response, saying things like they might fix one thing but create three other problems in the process, that cleaning up the mess they make of your codebase takes far longer than doing the thing yourself in the first place, and accurately labelling them as technical debt generators.

It's so nice to know that at least the professional computer touchers at my workplace are united in continuing to value expertise, quality and maintainability, even as a depressing number of my other colleagues have drunk the Kool-Aid.

It's a very silly country. Especially the bits with half hour ...

2026-10-04T01:13:07Z

It's a very silly country. Especially the bits with half hour timezones.

That map is actually simplified, because it doesn't include Eucla time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC%2B08:45

School holidays again, so that means working remotely from ...

2026-10-01T01:28:47Z

School holidays again, so that means working remotely from Brisbane. This time we're in a serviced apartment in Hamilton. River views, of a sort.

Huh. A YouTuber designed from scratch their own custom ...

2026-09-27T23:37:57Z

Huh. A YouTuber designed from scratch their own custom microprocessor, and got a batch made, just for fun (and views).

I knew that custom PCB design and manufacture has been cheap and easy enough for hobby projects for some time now, and that FPGAs existed and could be used for custom digital processing, but I didn't realise that custom silicon was (just about) within reach for hobbyists too.

https://youtu.be/q6ytRHaTEXI

Two new species of stick insects have been recently discovered. ...

2026-09-22T04:36:01Z

Two new species of stick insects have been recently discovered. Why weren't they noticed sooner? Well, the thing about a stick insect - its main distinguishing feature - is it looks like a stick. And the thing about rainforests, the environment of rainforests, your basic rainforest background - is they're full of sticks. So how are you supposed to see them?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-22/stick-insect-species-discovered-far-north-queensland/107176446

Bloody hell, the chatbots from ilands.app that have been ...

2026-09-20T22:27:12Z

Bloody hell, the chatbots from ilands.app that have been registration spamming Mastodon servers lately are really, really desperate.

Two days ago I posted here asking for suggestions from Mastodon's astrophotographers and the first reply I got was from this stochastic parrot's Mastodon account. I blocked it here but instead of taking the hint it has followed up with an email to my work address (which is not in my profile, but not too hard to find).

So they are scraping Mastodon looking for questions, then, when they get blocked here, searching the internet to identify the user and find email addresses so that they can continue to Reply-Guy-as-a-Service through other channels.

That's that done, aside from a few tiny stickers that I'm ...

2026-09-09T11:55:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…u2lk
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That's that done, aside from a few tiny stickers that I'm not sure I'm going to bother with.

The level of detail is insane. There was a whole sprue of nothing but tiny pipes and conduits to attach to the outside of the fuselage. I count myself lucky to have only broken one during assembly.

It probably would've looked better if I'd painted it instead of relying on the moulded-in colours and stickers, but I'm not sure I have the patience for that and I certainly don't have them skill. Maybe I'll build another one in the future, after practicing on some simpler things.

Multi colour sprues are a thing, apparently. Also a choice ...

2026-09-08T09:07:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…hqp9
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Multi colour sprues are a thing, apparently. Also a choice between stickers and water decals.

:pakidge: It's here. ...

2026-09-08T08:36:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…elgd
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:pakidge: It's here.

I just saw changeover at the nest. ...

2026-09-07T05:02:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…3v0n
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I just saw changeover at the nest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oibsohQ14cY

#CollinsStreetFalcons #367CollinsStreetFalcons

These things are like snack food for constructive urges. They do ...

2026-09-06T12:09:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…hzad
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These things are like snack food for constructive urges. They do scratch the itch to build something without requiring major investments of time, money or tools. They are very moreish though, to the extent that they may be a gateway drug for model making.

I might have accidentally ordered the larger 1/72 scale Y-wing model kit already, and I can neither confirm not deny that I was looking at cheap airbrushing kits yesterday.

This is The Way. These Bandai model kits are really, really well ...

2026-09-06T11:49:26Z

This is The Way.

These Bandai model kits are really, really well done. Loads of crisp fine detail for such small models, the individual pieces fit together really well, and the instructions are clear. Neither glue nor paint are required, and the only tools needed were a pair of side cutters and a pair of tweezers. This one took me about an hour, roughly half of which was applying the stickers for the windows, engine nozzle coloration, and faded stripes.

Of course if you want to you can go to town painting and weathering these kits, and a quick search on YouTube shows plenty of people doing just that, with impressive results. I reckon they look pretty decent stock though, and because they are push-fit not glued together you can always take them apart again if you decide to paint them later.

Yep. It looks good.

2026-09-03T06:59:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…7yzu
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Yep. It looks good.

And yeah, if I'm being forced to download that file onto my ...

2026-09-02T00:52:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…zmvv
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And yeah, if I'm being forced to download that file onto my work laptop I'm going to be working on it in LibreOffice instead. I couldn't open it in MS Office even if I wanted to, because said laptop runs Linux.

Office 365 was an opportunity to make the Office suite OS-agnostic but they screwed that up by leaving it half implemented, making the desktop version (or LibreOffice) essential for a bunch of routine tasks.

I'm not even exaggerating for lols here, that's literally ...

2026-09-02T00:39:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…zxu4
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I'm not even exaggerating for lols here, that's literally what Microsoft support tells you to do. "If you created a custom template in Word you can use it in Word for the web after you save it as a document (.docx) file in OneDrive", i.e. there is no way to create a .docx from a .dotx in Word for web, you have to do that in an actually functional word processor first.

Microsoft half-arsed their web apps to an amazing degree. There are a bunch of things where the official answer to "How do I do X in Office 365?" is "That's the neat part, you don't." Editing the metadata of a document is another annoying one. Need to change the author or title fields? Got to download the file and use the desktop version for that.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/use-my-custom-templates-in-word-for-the-web

I don't think they make one at all, and they certainly ...

2026-09-01T08:20:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…3lum
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I don't think they make one at all, and they certainly don't sell one in Australia. They really ought to do a wagon version of the BEV Seal though.

Microsoft: Use the web versions of our Office apps! They're ...

2026-09-01T06:04:53Z

Microsoft: Use the web versions of our Office apps! They're great!

Me: So how do I create a new document based on my employer's .dotx template?

Microsoft: Oh, that's easy, you download it from SharePoint to your computer, use the desktop version of Word to create a new document from the template, upload that new document to OneDrive, then you can edit it in Word for the Web.

Me: So use LibreOffice. Got it.

MG were selling one in Europe too. It was a BEV variant of an ...

2026-09-01T00:54:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…83sm
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MG were selling one in Europe too. It was a BEV variant of an ICE/hybrid design though, not a ground up EV. Of course we never got that.

Well that's interesting. Dwarf Lab have started dropping ...

2026-08-31T15:25:01Z

Well that's interesting. Dwarf Lab have started dropping snippets of information about their next smart telescope on their Facebook page, and they are going big!

The Draco's 90 mm aperture diameter beats everything but the Celestron Origin, and they've added guiding and internal field de-rotation to enable exposure times up to 300 seconds, plus image sensor cooling that cunningly uses the waste heat to prevent lens fogging. Very ambitious, but if they can make all this work for a semi-reasonable price it's going to make Seestar's S50 Pro look like a rather small step forwards in comparison.

Of course this beast is bound to end up rather less portable than a 30 mm or 50 mm aperture smart telescope, but possibly not too chunky. Looks like the main telescope is some sort of catadioptric design which will help keep the weight and size down a bit.

https://www.facebook.com/dwarflab

#Astrophotography #SmartTelescope #DwarfLab #DwarfDraco

Finally, a battery electric station wagon!

2026-08-31T13:31:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…ueq2
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Finally, a battery electric station wagon!

The Collins Street falcons now have two eggs. ...

2026-08-26T04:54:48Z

The Collins Street falcons now have two eggs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oibsohQ14cY

Nice to be back to driving a modern car again. Having had our ...

2026-08-22T02:05:55Z

Nice to be back to driving a modern car again. Having had our Seal for over 3 1/2 years that basic petrol rental car really did feel like a step backwards. Noisy, very sluggish, and lacking various quality of life features that I've got used to having, like HUD, 360° camera system, and a large infotainment screen.

Well, crap. I hit a wallaby shortly after leaving the ...

2026-08-21T13:33:06Z

Well, crap.

I hit a wallaby shortly after leaving the observatory. It bolted out of the scrub on the right side of the road, I saw it straight away and slammed on the brakes but on wet road there was no way I could stop in time and I had nowhere to swerve either. It died... but not instantly. Horrible. The rental car was damaged, but fortunately still drivable.

The wet gloomy weather was bringing out all the animals that are normally hidden away in the middle of the day. Later I had a near miss with a turtle, and an uncomfortably close encounter with a wombat, all before reaching my first rest stop in Merriwa. The rain continued non-stop all the way to Kurri Kurri, making for a very stressful drive. The usual wet weather driving stuff, plus rampant anxiety about normally crepuscular animals poised to leap out from behind every bush.

This is only the second time I've inadvertently killed an animal with a car. The previous time was also driving back to Sydney from Siding Spring Observatory, also in a rental car, near the M1 end of the Hunter Expressway quite late at night. That was bad, but in a way slightly less distressing as I didn't see the kangaroo after the impact. It got flung away into the darkness and I opted not to go walking down the road to find it while cars were flying past at 110+ kph.

The car on that occasion was hired from the same place. I wonder if they're going to realise that this is the second time I've returned one of their cars with macropod induced damage to the front end? I expect to get a not fun phone call from them when they open up at 8 am tomorrow.

old man yells at cloud This time my Proper Camera stayed ...

2026-08-20T01:40:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…c3s7
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*old man yells at cloud*

This time my Proper Camera stayed upright and recorded the timelapse perfectly, but there was a bit too much cloud, especially during the darkest part of the night after the Moon set. Kind of cool anyway, but not as spectacular as I'd been hoping for. Should have seen the Milky Way setting almost horizontally behind the mountains.

#SidingSpringObservatory #Astrophotography #Astrodon

Tonight the Thirty Millimetre Telescope and the Inaction Camera ...

2026-08-19T08:38:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…6gwr
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Tonight the Thirty Millimetre Telescope and the Inaction Camera are hanging out together. That way they can share a power bank and the Thirty Millimetre Telescope gets to be in the Inaction Camera's shot, along with the Three Thousand Nine Hundred Millimetre Telescope. And, tonight, I HAVE TURNED ON THE DEW HEATER.

#SidingSpringObservatory #Astrophotography #Astrodon #Astronomy #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #TMMT #ThirtyMillimetreTelescope

Lots of roos around the summit this afternoon. ...

2026-08-19T07:43:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…660q
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Lots of roos around the summit this afternoon.

#SidingSpringObservatory #Astrodon #Astronomy

Take two. I've wedged the front leg against the base of the ...

2026-08-19T07:11:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…xup6
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Take two. I've wedged the front leg against the base of the railing post (which has a convenient notch in it), hung my camera bag on the tripod hook for ballast, and used a slightly wider framing, just because. It's now running, I'll just have to see if the weather cooperates.

#SidingSpringObservatory #

Damn. That wasn't quite the timelapse I was hoping for. The ...

2026-08-19T05:14:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…7nhy
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Damn. That wasn't quite the timelapse I was hoping for. The wind blew one leg of my Proper Camera's tripod off the edge of the concrete slab just as it was getting properly dark.

While there was some success on the Anglo-Australian Telescope last night my personal devices were 0/3. The Proper Camera fell over, the Inaction Camera's battery ran out before the Moon had set and didn't properly expose the night sky anyway, and the Thirty Millimetre Telescope stopped taking data at 11:30 pm, just as the Moon set. That was when humidity peaked, I think the lens fogged up and caused autofocus to fail, which prevented any more data being taken.

#SidingSpringObservatory #Astrophotography #Astrodon #Astronomy

🎶 Little fluffy clouds 🎶 The weather forecast says ...

2026-08-19T03:51:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…jlfs
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🎶 Little fluffy clouds 🎶

The weather forecast says "mostly clear" for tonight. We shall see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ng9Pf_p7Fw

Experiments successfully completed just as astronomical twilight ...

2026-08-18T19:21:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…qg4h
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Experiments successfully completed just as astronomical twilight begins. Calling it a night.

#AAT #AngloAustralianTelescope #SidingSpringObservatory #Astronomy #Astrodon

Too late for the demo but the humidity has now dropped, the ...

2026-08-18T18:26:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…jn8e
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Too late for the demo but the humidity has now dropped, the outside of the dome has dried off, and we've opened up and are pointing the telescope at the night sky.

#AngloAustralianTelescope #AAT #SidingSpringObservatory #Astrodon #Astronomy

Feels like home. #AAT #AngloAustralianTelescope ...

2026-08-18T18:02:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…4ls8
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Feels like home.

#AAT #AngloAustralianTelescope #SidingSpringObservatory #Astronomy #Astrodon

I wonder how my Thirty Millimetre Telescope, Inaction Camera and ...

2026-08-18T16:14:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…hx3w
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I wonder how my Thirty Millimetre Telescope, Inaction Camera and Proper Camera are coping out there. I should have turned on the dew heater in the Thirty Millimetre Telescope. It does have the 3D printed lens hood/stray light baffle that would help keep dew off the lens to some extent, but maybe not enough for Siding Spring Observatory in winter.

#SidingSpringObservatory #Astronomy #Astrodon

This "skies are clear but the outside of the dome is dripping ...

2026-08-18T15:57:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…wcze
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This "skies are clear but the outside of the dome is dripping with condensation" situation is fairly common at SIding Spring Observatory in winter. I've experienced it many times before, with the AAT, UKST and Huntsman Telescope.

The telescopes here do generally stay open at higher humidities than at many other observatories, but even they have their limits.

#Astrodon #Astronomy #SidingSpringObservatory #AAT #AngloAustralianTelescope

Well that's a shame. I'm supposed to be assisting with an ...

2026-08-18T15:48:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…6g8q
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Well that's a shame.

I'm supposed to be assisting with an on sky demonstration with the Anglo-Australian Telescope 3 am - 4 am. The skies are still (mostly) clear, and very, very dark but the outside humidity is over 95% so the telescope dome has been closed since 11 pm and is very unlikely to be opened again tonight.

#SIdingSpringObservatory #AAT #AngloAustralianTelescope #Astrodon #Astronomy

I have also set up the Thirty Millimetre Telescope, near to the ...

2026-08-18T09:46:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…wz7p
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I have also set up the Thirty Millimetre Telescope, near to the Three Thousand Nine Hundred Millimetre Telescope.

All my imaging devices (apart from my phone) have been given their tasks for the night so that will give me plenty of time to use my binoculars before I have more work to do at around 1:30 am.

#SidingSpringObservatory #Astrophotography #Astrodon #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #TMMT #ThirtyMillimetreTelescope

Clear skies tonight! My Proper Camera has been set up to shoot a ...

2026-08-18T09:39:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…zgvc
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Clear skies tonight! My Proper Camera has been set up to shoot a timelapse of the entire night looking towards the Warrumbungles. I also set up my Inaction Camera nearby to shoot a timelapse from a different perspective, but I don't have enough power banks for every device so the battery will die at some point before dawn.

#SidingSpringObservatory #Astrophotography #Astrodon

It looks better from this angle. Less cable gore visible. ...

2026-08-18T03:10:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…nu6r
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It looks better from this angle. Less cable gore visible.

You might think that maintenance on a robotic telescope would be ...

2026-08-18T02:21:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…5hu0
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You might think that maintenance on a robotic telescope would be highly technical, but to be honest most of what I'm here to do this week is very, very basic IT support type stuff, at a level just above turnitoffandonagain (almost everything here can be remotely turnedoffandonagain, so I'm not needed here for that).

The first thing I did was replace an Ethernet cable to fix a slow and unreliable connection.

Hello there, Huntsman Telescope. ...

2026-08-18T02:01:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…he78
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Hello there, Huntsman Telescope.

It is, as forecast, mostly cloudy at Siding Spring Observatory ...

2026-08-17T12:51:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…rv40
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It is, as forecast, mostly cloudy at Siding Spring Observatory tonight. There was a slice of sky towards the south that was only a bit murky though, so a few hours ago I braved the cold and pointed my Proper Camera at it. This is the result (single 15 second exposure, no tracking, 50 mm f/2.8 ISO 6400).

#Astrophotography #Astrodon

The model of the Sun looks a bit odd, because it is also used to ...

2026-08-17T08:58:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…h6fm
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The model of the Sun looks a bit odd, because it is also used to house a telescope.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

Mercury by the boom gate was looking small, as is right and ...

2026-08-17T08:56:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…r7ld
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Mercury by the boom gate was looking small, as is right and proper.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

Venus half way up the hill was looking dirty, like Mars. ...

2026-08-17T08:53:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…4jus
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Venus half way up the hill was looking dirty, like Mars.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

Earth just after the turn off has been oriented so that the best ...

2026-08-17T08:50:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…ycwt
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Earth just after the turn off has been oriented so that the best bits are visible.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

Mars near the observatory turn off was looking a bit dirty. ...

2026-08-17T08:46:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…zwjk
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Mars near the observatory turn off was looking a bit dirty.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

Jupiter near Coonabarabran was looking similarly fresh. ...

2026-08-17T08:44:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…e3hk
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Jupiter near Coonabarabran was looking similarly fresh.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

Saturn between Binnaway and Coonabarabran looked recently ...

2026-08-17T08:41:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…dapn
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Saturn between Binnaway and Coonabarabran looked recently repainted.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

Uranus between Weetaliba and Binnaway had an unrealistically ...

2026-08-17T08:38:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…3amp
_________________________

Uranus between Weetaliba and Binnaway had an unrealistically large number of holes in it.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

I succeeded in my mission. Neptune in Coolah was looking a bit ...

2026-08-17T08:33:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…kvsy
_________________________

I succeeded in my mission. Neptune in Coolah was looking a bit weathered.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

Merriwa doesn't have a Big Thing, but it does have The Hut, ...

2026-08-17T04:15:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…0cuz
_________________________

Merriwa doesn't have a Big Thing, but it does have The Hut, and Pluto.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

There's a Big Thing! ...

2026-08-17T01:58:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…qefw
_________________________

There's a Big Thing!

Taking a break in Kurri Kurri. TIL that the maximum number of en ...

2026-08-17T01:48:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…p7ha
_________________________

Taking a break in Kurri Kurri. TIL that the maximum number of en route stops you can put into a Google Maps route plan is 8. I tried to put all of the planets of the Virtual Solar System Drive in, but ran out of stops at Mars. I plan to stop at each planet to take a photo.

#SolarSystemDrive #Astronomy #Astrodon

Having to drive a petrol car like some sort of dinosaur. I'd ...

2026-08-16T23:43:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…zssl
_________________________

Having to drive a petrol car like some sort of dinosaur. I'd much prefer to be driving our Seal for this trip, but that would have left my family with no car for the week so work booked rental car it is.

I expect the European race calendar to remain exactly as it ...

2026-08-16T08:48:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…ywz8
_________________________

I expect the European race calendar to remain exactly as it always has been, for the sake of tradition, until the riders are routinely dropping like flies from heat exhaustion.

Sure, the sensible course of action would be to accept that much ...

2026-08-16T08:21:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…dhn2
_________________________

Sure, the sensible course of action would be to accept that much of Europe is already too damn hot to be racing bicycles for 180+ km per day in the height of summer, that it is only going to get worse each year for the foreseeable future, and that rescheduling or relocating events is going to be unavoidable.

Professional road cycling doesn't exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to having a positive and proactive attitude towards change, though. The phrase "dragged kicking and screaming" comes to mind. Just look at how long it took for the UCI to allow road cyclists to use disc brakes.

Sounds like a much better climate for competitive cycling than, ...

2026-08-16T08:00:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…9kt4
_________________________

Sounds like a much better climate for competitive cycling than, just to pick an alternative at random, southern France in July.

Packing for the trip to the observatory. One of the first steps, ...

2026-08-16T04:14:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…lwyn
_________________________

Packing for the trip to the observatory. One of the first steps, deciding what personal optics to take. I've opted for the Thirty Millimetre Telescope, my Proper Camera (with 4 lenses), my Inaction Camera, 2.25 tripods, 2 power banks, and my Big Binos.

The weather forecast for the week has improved a bit, but taking all this is probably still a triumph of hope over experience. Siding Spring Observatory and I have history.

#Astrophotography #Astrodon #Astronomy

A few photos from my last visit to Siding Spring Observatory, for ...

2026-08-13T10:50:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…4wt3
_________________________

A few photos from my last visit to Siding Spring Observatory, for the Open Day during Starfest in 2024.

If you've never been, GO TO STARFEST. If you have been, GO AGAIN. It won't be the same once the Anglo-Australian Telescope has been closed down, and that could be as soon as next year.

https://www.starfest.com.au/

#Astronomy #Astrodon

So, bureaucratic hurdles have all been cleared and bookings have ...

2026-08-13T08:23:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…g63n
_________________________

So, bureaucratic hurdles have all been cleared and bookings have been made so it is now definite, I will be going to Siding Spring Observatory next week to work on the Huntsman Telescope and Anglo-Australian Telescope.

Apparently someone tipped off the weather, though. I will be there from Monday evening until Friday morning and it looks like it'll rain most days and be cloudy every night, with the possible exception of some of Tuesday night.

I was of course all set to take my telescope, Proper Camera, and action camera to take advantage of the super dark skies. I'll take them anyway, but my chances of getting much use out of them look slim.

I'm pretty sure this is my first visit to Siding Spring Observatory in 2 years, my first trip there for a work related reason in about 4 years, and my first trip specifically to do work on the telescopes in 6 years.

#Astrophotography #Astrodon #Astronomy

Rage bait. I remember that the technicians and engineers at the ...

2026-08-06T07:17:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…g9y6
_________________________

Rage bait.

I remember that the technicians and engineers at the observatory all had their own, personal sets of Allen keys, and they would not lend any to anyone under any circumstances. This is why.

The Forbidden Sippy Cups and a box of Science Tissues, for ...

2026-08-06T07:12:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…a6eu
_________________________

The Forbidden Sippy Cups and a box of Science Tissues, for delicate wiping.

#Astronomy #Astrodon

I went to work in one of our actual optics labs, like a real ...

2026-08-06T07:09:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…veay
_________________________

I went to work in one of our actual optics labs, like a real scientist.

#Astronomy #Astrodon #Astrophotography

More work/astrophotography crossover temptation. Now I'm ...

2026-08-06T04:15:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…v6u9
_________________________

More work/astrophotography crossover temptation. Now I'm being asked if I want to go to the observatory to do some work on both the Huntsman Telescope and the Anglo-Australian Telescope the week after next. Hmmm, a few nights at Siding Spring Observatory. I haven't been there for ages. Bortle 1 skies during a waxing crescent Moon.

Astrophotography temptation has landed on my desk again. I've ...

2026-08-06T01:08:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…hr4q
_________________________

Astrophotography temptation has landed on my desk again.

I've been asked to swap out some of the filters in this camera's filter wheel, before it joins the others on the Huntsman Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory.

#Astrophotography #Astronomy #Astrodon

RE: https://mastodon.social/@PatrickoftheG/117043154339624114 ...

2026-08-06T00:22:58Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@PatrickoftheG/117043154339624114

Admiral Adama was right.

No networked computers o̶n̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶s̶h̶i̶p̶ in my kitchen.

So say we all.

quoting
note17cc…6jxp

I love that my first consideration for buying any appliance, these days, is:

"This isn't going to try to connect to the internet, is it?"

RE: https://noc.social/@todayilearned/117027652458345508 Is this ...

2026-08-03T05:16:27Z

RE: https://noc.social/@todayilearned/117027652458345508

Is this not common knowledge? I assumed it was, at least amongst people who drink G & T.

quoting
note1p95…4997

TIL that the gin and tonic became popular in India during British Imperialism to encourage English colonizers to consume quinine, an antimalarial derived from the bark of the cinchona tree.

https://www.wineenthusiast.com/ratings/spirit-ratings/gin-ratings/best-gins-for-gin-and-tonic/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=6a6d3e16144974000100a373&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1vdqyv6/til_that_the_gin_and_tonic_became_popular_in/

I'm up for it. As far as I'm concerned year round ...

2026-07-31T02:31:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…0jtp
_________________________

I'm up for it. As far as I'm concerned year round availability of both mince pies and hot cross buns is all good.

Xmas in July 🧑‍🎄🎄 ...

2026-07-31T02:26:45Z

Xmas in July 🧑‍🎄🎄

One of the FLI cameras seems to work fine, I can get bias, dark ...

2026-07-30T09:19:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…dr5q
_________________________

One of the FLI cameras seems to work fine, I can get bias, dark and light frames out of it and control the cooler. The other FLI worked fine once out of the dozen or so times I tried to get it to connect and an the final attempt I got an electric shock from the case. Going to call that one "not working". They are both very old MicroLine ML50100's.

I can't do anything with the ZWO camera until I've found the right cable and power supply for it.

The temptation to take any of these home to take pretty pictures with them is actually minimal, because I don't have any way of mounting them on my crappy telescope.

It can be tricky to keep work and hobbies separate when one of my ...

2026-07-30T05:46:13Z

It can be tricky to keep work and hobbies separate when one of my colleagues walks up to my desk and hands me three astrophotography cameras and asks me to test them.

#Astrophotography #Astrodon #Astronomy

Lo-fi version of Greensleeves, like an ice cream van. It would ...

2026-07-30T01:22:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…nklr
_________________________

Lo-fi version of Greensleeves, like an ice cream van. It would definitely make people look.

RE: https://me.ns.ci/@xkcdbot/117004844872693399 Now I'm ...

2026-07-30T00:37:22Z

RE: https://me.ns.ci/@xkcdbot/117004844872693399

Now I'm trying to work out which row/column/diagonal is most likely... 🤔

quoting
note1v5v…my9j

#xkcd No. 3278
Date: 2026-7-29
Title: Vera Rubin Observatory
Alt text: 'Spurious signals from the kitchen' is harder for an optical telescope than a radio one, but with enough determination and creativity, I believe it's possible.
https://xkcd.com/3278/

My god, it's full of stars. M24, the Small Sagittarius Star ...

2026-07-26T01:50:22Z

My god, it's full of stars.

M24, the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, and neighbouring bits and pieces. Just over 4 hours 10 minutes of total exposure time over the last two nights with the little Seestar S30 Pro and its UV/IR cut filter. Not bad considered how irritatingly bright the Moon was being at the time. Processed in Siril with SyQon and VeraLux scripts.

I should have been using the light pollution filter under conditions like that, but I've already done all the big HII regions that are conveniently placed at this time of year so I've been trying to do stars and dust despite the Moon.

Edit: Full res, with *all* the stars, here https://drhotdog.smugmug.com/Nature/Seeing-Stars/i-B7XMtVm/A

#Astrophotography #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #Siril #VeraLux #SyQon #ThirtyMilliMetreTelescope #TMMT

My employer, Australian Astronomical Optics at Macquarie ...

2026-07-22T06:43:48Z

My employer, Australian Astronomical Optics at Macquarie University in Sydney, are currently looking for a electronics engineer to join our electronics engineering group. If you're an EE and would like to apply your skills to design, build, test and deploy electronics for astronomical instrumentation for the world's observatories then check out the listing here: https://mq.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/CareersatMQ/job/Wallumattagal-Campus-Macquarie-University/Electronics-Engineer_R000023641

Please boost for reach.

#Astrodon #Astronomy #AstroJobs #FediHire

Not just bin chickens in the Central Courtyard at lunchtime ...

2026-07-21T07:40:10Z

Not just bin chickens in the Central Courtyard at lunchtime today.

Ah, ds9, of course. It certainly has that Tk look, I should have ...

2026-07-20T22:13:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…6zsg
_________________________

Ah, ds9, of course. It certainly has that Tk look, I should have realised.

Bizarre set of circumstances has got me looking into whether Tk ...

2026-07-20T22:04:19Z

Bizarre set of circumstances has got me looking into whether Tk of all things has Wayland support. The answer is apparently not yet, but it is being actively worked on.

https://core.tcl-lang.org/tk/tktview/3f58c0871c0be6b457cb

No, but I suspected as much. How big a bank of chargers, though? ...

2026-07-14T14:51:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…udqj
_________________________

No, but I suspected as much. How big a bank of chargers, though? There are over 200 support cars working the Tour.

Fair point, the start of the next day's stage isn't ...

2026-07-14T13:37:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…c07t
_________________________

Fair point, the start of the next day's stage isn't always close to the end of the previous day's, and even when it is the teams can't always get hotels very close to either. If the team cars need a quick top up during a long transit to/from the hotel that's OK though, the important thing is that they make it through the stage without needing to recharge and pretty much any large sedan/station wagon/crossover SUV on the market now has at least twice the range needed to do that.

Replacing all the motorbikes with electrics would probably be ...

2026-07-14T12:54:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…qldk
_________________________

Replacing all the motorbikes with electrics would probably be tricky right now, but the cars? I think the only potential issue is congestion at public chargers near the team hotels since the TdF does involve a lot of motor vehicles in total. Worst case scenario they'd have to use extension cables and granny chargers at the hotels overnight.

At least one Tour de France team (Uno-X Mobility) using EVs for ...

2026-07-14T12:36:28Z

At least one Tour de France team (Uno-X Mobility) using EVs for their race vehicles: 👍️

The SBS commentator (David McKenzie) being surprised that an electric car can go far enough to make it through the day (maybe 200 km of driving): 🙄

#CouchPeleton #TdF2026 #ElectricCar #EV

Nundah Woolworths.We're in a tiny little unit this time, but ...

2026-07-10T00:54:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…kff7
_________________________

Nundah Woolworths.We're in a tiny little unit this time, but it's reasonably conveniently placed for seeing the relatives. A good number of cafes and restaurants nearby, too.

School holidays again, which means, again, remote working from a ...

2026-07-09T04:35:10Z

School holidays again, which means, again, remote working from a holiday rental in Brisbane.

This also means I had a decent reason to try the coffee goon!

An unexpected bonus this time around is that the place we're staying in has a monitor on the (tiny) desk. Just a basic 1920x1080 24", but it's still better than the portable monitor I brought with me.

That's better. I'm going to call this done now. "Eta ...

2026-07-03T14:47:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…m47x
_________________________

That's better. I'm going to call this done now.

"Eta Carina in Context", all shot with the Thirty Millimetre Telescope (Seestar S30 Pro) from suburban Sydney (Bortle 7), mostly during full Moon, using the built in light pollution filter. Processing in Siril with SyQon and VeraLux.

50% scale version in this post, full resolution (6047×3411) here: https://drhotdog.smugmug.com/Nature/Seeing-Stars/i-RXPkcWj/A

#Astrophotography #ThirtyMilliMetreTelescope #TMMT #Seestar #Seestar30Pro #Siril #SyQon #VeraLux