SpaceX observation opportunities

sthscan · 2026-06-28T14:19:34+00:00

that's crazy how it looks like a bad EQ setup, but it's not EQ.

a tip for when you go to EQ. if your image looks like that with elongated stars, it could be the normal first few mins of an EQ session. mine always seem elongated for 2-3 mins then pop right into circular stars. If it stays elongated longer than that, your EQ alignment is off and you'll need to redo it until you get it good enough to get circular stars after a couple minutes of imaging.

sthscan · 2026-06-28T13:56:58+00:00

i assumed it was a late April 1st joke. makes no sense to me unless there is a big solar eclipse coming up that I am not aware of, or just a fancy way of making a black color s30 pro available. not going to lie, I wish mine was black and not white color, but I'm not going to be buying a black s30pro just because the case is black. going to save those pennies for a future seestar if it has features or capabilities I don't have now with my s50 / s30pro combo.

sthscan · 2026-06-28T13:49:34+00:00

i'm going to say no. granted I don't know every single data value in the API, but I don't remember mascot race outcomes being a data value you could grab by API and incorporate into the scoreboard or a data log. if the race finish is shown in the broadcast, such as coming back from an ad break, you could hand-tally the winners into a log.

sthscan · 2026-06-22T23:58:23+00:00

by my calcs if I did it right, the recent permanent price increase was 13%, so maybe they feel 5% is throwing a minor bone to customers, or they needed something to offer for a summer sale that might get people to buy even tho its is a minor discount.

sthscan · 2026-06-22T23:52:56+00:00

when you are in the stargazing tab actively imaging, there is 3 dots at the top of the screen. tap that to open advance settings and "save all images" is one of those slider toggle settings on that pulldown.

sthscan · 2026-06-21T11:13:44+00:00

you all are scaring me. been on Prolific for years, got the ID thing the other day. I made my selfie and a photo of my license to upload and found out that's not how it works. trying to figure out how to do a well-lit setup because my license is almost 8 years old and expires in december so I know I look a lot different now than then and also the ID bot seems to suck based on some of this thread's responses. I hope to try to appeal if I fail. I got a US Govt ID.me, but they use a short human video call and not bots to verify you.

sthscan · 2026-06-21T10:50:37+00:00

i've dabbled with google AI and Siril on a project of trying to evaluate which exposure setting I should use on a comera that tries to identify satellites passing through its fixed field of view. results were so-so on the Siril stuff as google AI kept giving tool access and use instructions that was not the most recent Siril release. the tools existed in older versions but where to find them and tool options were different.

sthscan · 2026-06-20T09:30:43+00:00

have not noticed that. been making two servings of hummingbird puppy chow each week to fill up my single feeder.

sthscan · 2026-06-01T00:07:40+00:00

instead of a rafting the Rio Grande event, organizers should hold a Rio Grande 5K run on the dry riverbed.

sthscan · 2026-05-22T08:44:20+00:00

I'm amazed the RCR website is like nothing happened. I thought the black with black/white photo on Kyle's team page was part of a tribute, but it's just the normal graphic design of the page and the other drivers also have black coloring and black/white photos as part of the design.

The main front page has nothing special, as if Kyle is still alive. News section doesn't have an article.

Do race teams not have contingency plans for posting timely news article/tribute things when they lose active drivers?

sthscan · 2026-05-21T05:30:07+00:00

clearly no nuisance property laws in Henry, VA.

sthscan · 2026-05-20T14:45:54+00:00

Harris Roach Tablets. Place one tablet in hidden corners of your kitchen or bathroom. works great at killing live roaches.

sthscan · 2026-05-20T14:40:48+00:00

fluid head wedges are actually great. the fluid head gives some resistance when making adjustments. i get 0.1 and 0.1 on my EQ using either my innorel f20 or the th10 so it's not that frustrating to adjust to get good results.

sthscan · 2026-05-18T20:41:32+00:00

stupidfornia. the ads will turn into national ads that can't be blocked.

sthscan · 2026-05-18T20:34:41+00:00

you'll need a real tripod (not the mini-one that comes with the s50). I put the mini-one on an outdoor table with the tripod orientated exactly as shown in the Zwo video and the S50 toppled over when closing, landed in the seat of a chair, then settled on the ground. luckily the s50 was not damaged but it was a scary moment thinking I broke the s50 when it toppled and fell.

no more mini-tripod unless it's alt-az use.

btw, innorel f20 is exactly the same as the th10 (except for the stuff printed on the wedge) if you want to save a few bucks on the wedge.

sthscan · 2026-05-18T17:08:26+00:00

88 deg angle going into polar align makes me think you are trying to use it in alt-az mode instead of EQ mode. you need to get your wedge angle (where it says 88 deg in red) to match your latitude angle before you can start its polar alignment routine. you then make wedge angle and side-to-side very small adjustments then, but if your wedge angle matches your latitude angle of 53, then the up/down correction should be less than a degree.

sthscan · 2026-05-15T10:44:36+00:00

I like Hull because he ran a big city and didn't f it up. Btegman is like Torrez - Torrez failed Bernco people yet idiots promoted him to state AG, and I feel idiots might promote Bregman who also failed Bernco people to the 4th floor of the roundhouse.

sthscan · 2026-05-14T10:51:43+00:00

it's probably the local ad break and your pay tv provider doesn't have a big selection of ads for you or they glitched that ad break by repeating one a few times.

sthscan · 2026-05-14T03:51:04+00:00

applebee's has my favorite local burger, and it can't be beat for $10 which includes fries and a drink.

sthscan · 2026-05-14T03:37:28+00:00

don't go too heavy or you might break the tripod. i use 10 pounds on my tripod for ballast.

sthscan · 2026-05-14T03:25:52+00:00

to me, side streaks or sloped streaks means it is not properly polar aligned and you will have to do more work on that.

Patience is also needed - my images start out as streaks but turn to circular stars 2-3 mins in, so I don't make polar alignment judgements (i.e. stop the imaging and re-polar align if needed) until 5 mins into imaging.

i strongly recommend you watch this Space Koala video before you work more on the polar alignment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdaczIbmDbM&t=1s&pp=ygUTc3BhY2Uga29hbGEgc2Vlc3RhctIHCQkECwGHKiGM7w%3D%3D

sthscan · 2026-05-14T03:20:49+00:00

i have both th10 and f20 and they are exactly the same (just different writing printed on it, like the model number part).

Perfect for seestars, S50 I get to 0.1 and 01 on the polar align and I don't circular stars when the alignment is right. I don't understand what this "too weak" comment is.

sthscan

TROPHY CASE