Any star gazers and amateur astronomers ?

There are apps to track specific objects. Star Walk is one such app, Night Sky is another. UT Austin's Astrigraph is a web based tool for tracking debris.

 

Haha, actual Tacoma content in this thread! Just got a Skyguider Pro. This is my 1st attempt at imaging with it. I had difficulty finding Polaris due to bright skies. I set the elevation to the latitude of my location and I used my iPhone compass app to align to north. I gambled and tried a 3 minute exposure of the Orion constellation. I was actually surprised that I got very minimal star trailing with that alignment and exposure time. If you squint just right I think there is evidence of Barnard's Loop starting to form. If the skies here ever clear I want to try again and get many more images for stacking to see if I can bring it out more. I just put a ball head mount on the base SGP just to see how things would turn out. This image was at 50mm and 800 ISO (Canon R6M2) f/4.0. The truck image was taken at blue hour and composited onto the star field.

 

I hope there’s clear skies where you are!
https://x.com/nwsgray/status/1776912069326991466?s=46

Anyone here taking pics?

 

I'm gonna take some. No idea what I'm doing though

 

I'll be taking images throughout. Where I am it'll be at 91%, too long a drive for the area of totality.

 

Amazing! First totality experience.
Apologies for the crappy cell phone pic..

 

Took many photos, here is a collage of the eclipse sequence. Fortunately the viewing conditions here in Rhode Island were pretty good!

 

Jupiter .. last night.

 

Nice, you got the Pleiades as well!

 

Thanx.. I got Sky Tonight app.. & keep looking, & I knew that had to be planet. Was after 10 & I had to go to bed unfortunately.

 

Last night the forecast was for clouds, set up any way and got this 2.5 hour integration of the Needle Galaxy...

 

If you're a student of the Apollo space program, there's some interesting info in this video.

https://youtu.be/vLefsklLkqQ

I knew that a lot of the debris was sent toward the sun but did not know Apollo 12's third stage missed the mark

 

Thought you guys might enjoy a recent project I completed! Complete tear down, clean, and lubrication of my Intes Micro M603 MAK.

Background:
I recently acquired an M603 (#27) with a disabled focuser. To address this issue, I decided to disassemble, clean, and lubricate it.

Disassembly Challenges:
Removing the rear cell and mirror was straightforward.









The first hurdle arose with a stripped bolt connecting the sliding mirror tube to the central baffle tube. I successfully extracted it and replaced all bolts with modern stainless ones.




The second challenge was discovering that the disabled focuser was due to the sliding mirror tube being fused to the central baffle tube. To resolve the issue, I improvised a simple, albeit unorthodox jig/press to gently separate them, which proved effective.




It seems the original lubricant had solidified over time, rendering the scope inoperable. Thankfully, mineral spirits easily dissolved the substance! Afterwards, I cleaned the primary components in a sonicator bath, applied a thin layer of Krytox to all contact surfaces, and allowed them to degas overnight.

Assembly proceeded smoothly, and the new bolts gave the instrument a refreshed appearance. The focuser now operates smoothly without any slack or flop. Lastly, a daylight collimation inspection revealed reasonable alignment, but I plan to fine-tune it further with Polaris over the next few nights.




Conclusion:
Despite setbacks, I'm elated that I successfully brought this vintage instrument back to life so it can start gulping in that light.

 

Glad you were able to get the scope going again!

 

More of an earthgazer perspective but thought you folks would enjoy:
https://x.com/uwcimss/status/1781037931630629044?s=46

 

Another capture from earlier today. Milky Way image with my new SkyGuider Pro, Canon R6M2, 50mm, f/4.0, 3'45" exposure. The near full moon set at 4:42AM, took this at 4:15 as the skies were starting to lighten with the oncoming dawn. Not ideal but I wanted to take advantage of a rare clear sky... Taken at the Breachway in Charlestown, RI. Very cold morning at just about 33 degrees, brrrrr

 

Interesting tidbit..

 

I was in Anchorage last August and can attest to the long light days!! Not the best area for astrophotography, bitterly cold in the winter...

 

I might have posted this before…
Something to keep an eye on:
https://x.com/spacedotcom/status/1784221420282683641?s=46

 

I figured you folks would appreciate this the most!
https://x.com/mastronomers/status/1788253954997879199?s=46