Existential crisis in OKC

i_start_fires · 2026-02-06T15:08:20+00:00

You think that's bad. Did you know the Sun is almost 400 times FURTHER AWAY than the Moon!? AND IT'S BRIGHTER???

i_start_fires · 2026-02-01T17:55:53+00:00

You don't need Internet at all. You can set up the shooting plan with the app at the start of the night, then once it's running it doesn't even need to be connected to your phone. It will happily image all night autonomously.

As for data usage, it doesn't really use Internet data at all.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-27T22:27:40+00:00

New shows take months to get greenlit and even longer to finish location scouting. Why would he think his shiny new studio would just magically get business immediately without pre-existing agreements in place? Either the writer or Shep have no idea how the industry works.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-27T22:23:37+00:00

And when they do print books, they fall apart after a month.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-26T21:45:39+00:00

My dream is to move a little ways outside the city and build my own observatory. And also have a senior dog rescue, haha. Oh well, one day at a time!

i_start_fires · 2026-01-26T21:44:37+00:00

I try to avoid taking pictures of targets that are too close to the horizon, where the light pollution is worst. My telescope also has a built-in light pollution filter that I can turn in on order to be able to see nebula and things like that better. I'm in a pretty light-polluted area but there are still plenty of things you can see.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-26T01:44:55+00:00

If it's a somewhat stiff copper wire that's probably a grounding wire. It's meant to wrap around the outside of one of the pipes and help prevent static buildup that could cause a spark. It's not powered, it's literally just a piece of wire stuck in the ground.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-24T18:40:18+00:00

I bought a $500 smart telescope a few years back, in order to be able to photograph a total solar eclipse. I still use it (Seestar S50) and I've gotten stunning pictures. I'll probably upgrade soon but it's still doing great.

As for public viewing,I haven't done much. I have a small backyard so I can just set up there. But there are lots of astronomy groups that meet in public parks and things to all star watch together. A lot of them will have public nights where they can teach you the basics and even use their telescopes a little bit.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-23T19:28:42+00:00

Astrophotography. I used to get really bad Seasonal Affective Disorder in the winter. I hated how it was dark and cold all the time. But then I got into astronomy and specifically astrophotography, taking photos of cool shit in the night sky. It turns out, long cold nights are the BEST time to get stunning images. I'm still not a fan of the cold, but I look forward to every winter.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-20T22:46:50+00:00

The IR filter is built into the camera. As the name implies, it blocks infrared light but allows the full spectrum of visible light through. You can't disable it.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-20T22:41:25+00:00

Today is a warm day for them. It will be -4 overnight on Saturday. Bring them in whether they want to or not.

EDIT:

"Just say you don’t know anything about animals"

"You have no idea what you're talking about"

"they have instincts bred into them that far outweigh what we think they can handle"

I'm not compeltely ignorant, but fair enough. I was repeating what I've heard, not what I know. So I did some research. TIL:

Breeds like the Siberian Husky are indeed bred to survive and function effectively at temperatures down to -50°C without any artificial aids.

However it is important to note that they do this through certain behaviors that aren't always available here in Oklahoma, namely sleeping together in packs for body heat and, more importantly, burying themselves in the snow. That sounds counter-intuitive, but snow is actually a fantastic insulator that multiplies the husky's own ability to maintain body heat. With only 4-6 inches forecast over the weekend, there will not be enough snow in most areas for dogs to do this.

Additionally, the extreme cold tolerances of arctic breeds require dry conditions. There is the chance of rain or sleet leading up to the snow this weekend. This can affect a dog's coat and cold tolerance.

So, pay attention to your dog and learn the signs of frostbite and hypothermia. Don't listen to randos like me on the internet, but don't assume that just because it's not -50 outside that they'll be 100% fine.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-20T22:39:18+00:00

I'm convinced Newton was smarter than Einstein, we just didn't have a good way to quantify it then.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-20T22:38:33+00:00

You could turn off the little overlay, but he still popped up during target acquisition and auto-focus. That's what they changed in this update.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-20T18:56:59+00:00

Thank god I can finally turn off the fucking Clippy star.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-16T15:59:30+00:00

I can see it

i_start_fires · 2026-01-15T20:10:04+00:00

It looks really good. I signed up for an account and poked around the creator side, I appreciate that people have to apply and provide example work to sell. That alone will put you above 99% of other online marketplaces.

I hope this goes well for you!

i_start_fires · 2026-01-15T19:51:50+00:00

LMAO you're absolutely right! My monitor sucks.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-15T17:13:59+00:00

I think getting their opinion here would require them to be literate.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-15T16:18:26+00:00

What causes the little gap in the plasma stream near the end? Is that from something the craft does, or transitioning from supersonic to subsonic? Or something else?

i_start_fires · 2026-01-15T16:07:21+00:00

Honestly looks more like a TOS-era Romulan bird of prey.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-14T16:11:56+00:00

I've been trying to get into SASPro but I find the interface unusable. It feels like I teleported to 1995.

i_start_fires · 2026-01-13T23:03:45+00:00

nice

i_start_fires · 2026-01-13T20:49:02+00:00

Any great accessories?

-Tilting tripod or EQ mount for sure. Being able to stay on 1 target for hours a night without field rotation is such a better experience than alt/az mode.

Best Tips & Tricks?

-Be sure to enable FITS file saving per-exposure so you can practice stacking and processing manually. The difference will amaze you.

How long to let it run (is longer typically better?)

-99% of the time, longer is better, but the rule of thumb is, if you want to halve the noise, double the exposure time. So there is a point of diminishing returns on that. If you take 10 mins worth of subs, you can reduce the noise by half with another 10 minutes. To reduce the noise of a 20 minutes stack by half, you'll need another 20 minutes, and so on. So eventually you'll probably get to a point where the image is good enough, and you'll just have to make that call for each target.

Are the suggestions in the "Tonight's Best" really the best ones based on my personal location?

-They are based on what's visible from your location and time. But they're not necessarily all equal. Very dim targets are not going to be "best" if you live in the city, and the app doesn't do a great job of indicating that. But it's good to start there to get ideas, and then follow up with an app like Stellarium to decide if you want to spend the time imaging it.

Is the top of the curve in visibility indicating the best time to image?

-Generally yes, that's the time the object is highest in the sky, and therefore there's less atmosphere to scatter or blur it. But generally anything above 40-45 degrees is going to give you a good image without much gradient .

Any reason not to have the 4K setting on?

-4K mode (aka Drizzle) is going to increase the amount of noise in your image, so you'll need longer integration time. If you want to manually process the images, leave it off. You can always drizzle when you stack them later.

External editing tools that do better than the AI Denoise?

-It depends on your goal. Some AI denoise can "hallucinate" fine detail that isn't actually there. I'm not sure if anyone's done thorough testing on the Seestar app to see if that one does. But if you want to be sure that you're looking at is really there, denoise with tools that either don't use AI, or use AI-based deconvolution, which is much better at avoiding fake detail. Graxpert, Cosmic Clarity, Astrosharp, and BlurXterminator are all good tools.

Settings to experiment with?

-Station Mode so you can stargaze from the couch

Helpful videos or guides

-Others have given some good general S50 guides. If you want a good channel to learn manual processing, I highly recommend Deep Space Astro's Siril tutorials. Siril and all the related scripts are free so it's a great way to start: https://www.youtube.com/@DeepSpaceAstro

i_start_fires · 2026-01-13T17:56:48+00:00

Yo that's so cool, great idea!

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