AstronomyEnjoyer

Not even sure I've had that much. I can't remember the last time I saw the sun.

First photos of Feb 2024 - Nothing but overcast here today. Went for a walk and took a few pictures of the east slope of Mt. Sunapee. The way the ice covered trees blend seamlessly into the clouds gives a kind of ghostly, ethereal feel. Still would be nice if the frickin' sun would come out.

00z GFS Kuchera. Posted in honor of Moonshine who I think might be getting married today (yesterday). If not, truthfully, I probably would have posted it anyway.

And with a strange QPF distribution.

FWIW, 00z ICON says yes to SE Mass weenie snow a week from now.

Ah shit, didn't she say she was getting married today? I'm doomed.

@Prismshine Productions Where are you? I need backup. Getting absolutely destroyed in here.

God, depending on years it's possible. I was electronic warfare JSF at Edwards. Lotta dorks out there with that hobby though, haha.

Hence the paranoia.

Nope!

I usually use dedicated astrophotography cameras for astrophotography, but I sometimes use a Sony a7 IV. I'm paranoid about dropping that thing.

I wish, still hold a TS clearance.

Drunk astronomy is fun until you drop a $1100 eyepiece on your concrete driveway.

Nope, don't drink anymore.

To make myself feel better, I'm fairly certain that telescope is a 76mm reflector coming from one of the big Chinese optics manufacturers. Models with those apertures use spherically ground mirrors instead of parabolically ground mirrors. It's cheaper and easier to make a spherical mirror but as I'm sure some of you know, a spherical surface does not reflect incoming parallel light rays into a single point like a parabola would. So you get what's called spherical aberration when observing. (Parabolic mirrors also introduce aberrations but that's a whole other story). Also the mounts on those cheap telescopes are extremely difficult and frustrating to use. Junk really. Still like collecting them though. I probably own around 25 telescopes right now?

Now wait a good minute Sir! The orbital period on the celestial body that is the GFS is 6 hours. Astronomy is science of discipline and patience. And as such, in 6 hours time, my search shall begin anew!

It'd have to be a roadside special.

Oh no, this hurts me. I collect any and all telescopes, even broken ones.

Me, desperately searching for shades of pink and red on the clown maps.

This Italian is sad. No one needs to see them.

Nest caught me on the tractor! (This is really just a test post)

Here's another of the lake zoomed in a bit.

30.6" in January here in Bradford. Has been a good month for inland folks with some elevation and latitude.

It really has, and thanks! I'm hoping I can get a shot with the ice up there but also have a clear view into VT over the next couple days. Unfortunately I don't think it'll end up happening that way though. Aviation weather wants to keep the low clouds for a while.

Saw the cloud deck was beginning to lift, so I decided to take a 15 min drive to where the wealthy keep their homes. That's lake Sunapee down below. The photos were taken from my truck at about 2000ft. Different world up there in terms of tree species, icing, the whole winter vibe in general. When it's really clear you can see nearly all the big VT ski resorts. You can also see the White Mountains including Washington to the north. Will try to get back up there on a clear day. (edit: because I forgot to mention, this is Newbury, NH.)