Simulation Sessions
The little bit I was awake today, I spent in Simulation Sessions learning how to use my telescope autoguider. Both Sheila and I have been exhausted for months so most of our free time seems to be spent sleeping but I managed to spend some time doing some simulations within the software for this telescope autoguider.
I'm making some headway with the software package... PHD2... which, apparently, stands for 'Push Here Dummy'. Today I managed to get through about a dozen simulations... most were effective simulations, some simulations were not so effective. Tomorrow, I hope to get through a few tutorials as well as more simulations.
Although I was in simulations today, I did assemble everything in the living room... cables running from cameras to computer and to the telescope mount. Things are becoming clearer and clearer in my mind but I will admit that I don't fully understand every aspect of this software package just yet so, when I do run into problems, I find myself doing a bit of guessing at a solution. Things are becoming clearer for me though.
I am beginning to see that on any night when I plan to shoot astrophotography, I'll need to begin setting up at least an hour or so before sunset. Of course, setting up in daylight is easier anyway but there is a lot to prepare and setup. Even for a simple viewing session with my telescopes, it would be far easier to setup in daylight. The equipment necessary for astrophotography adds layers of additional setup and preparation.
Anyway, my waking hours this morning and this evening (I slept all afternoon) were spent in Simulation Sessions practicing guiding and learning about the software. Even though I don't have anything to show for some productivity today, I'd call today a productive day.
Here is a quick screenshot of one such Simulation Session...
Late last night, I noticed that the sky was mostly clear so I briefly toyed with the idea of setting up a telescope or two to do some viewing... until I smelled some close skunk activity! I definitely didn't want to be setting up any telescopes in the dark and risk running into a skunk. I went back to bed instead.
It is time for bed!
I'm making some headway with the software package... PHD2... which, apparently, stands for 'Push Here Dummy'. Today I managed to get through about a dozen simulations... most were effective simulations, some simulations were not so effective. Tomorrow, I hope to get through a few tutorials as well as more simulations.
Although I was in simulations today, I did assemble everything in the living room... cables running from cameras to computer and to the telescope mount. Things are becoming clearer and clearer in my mind but I will admit that I don't fully understand every aspect of this software package just yet so, when I do run into problems, I find myself doing a bit of guessing at a solution. Things are becoming clearer for me though.
I am beginning to see that on any night when I plan to shoot astrophotography, I'll need to begin setting up at least an hour or so before sunset. Of course, setting up in daylight is easier anyway but there is a lot to prepare and setup. Even for a simple viewing session with my telescopes, it would be far easier to setup in daylight. The equipment necessary for astrophotography adds layers of additional setup and preparation.
Anyway, my waking hours this morning and this evening (I slept all afternoon) were spent in Simulation Sessions practicing guiding and learning about the software. Even though I don't have anything to show for some productivity today, I'd call today a productive day.
Here is a quick screenshot of one such Simulation Session...
Late last night, I noticed that the sky was mostly clear so I briefly toyed with the idea of setting up a telescope or two to do some viewing... until I smelled some close skunk activity! I definitely didn't want to be setting up any telescopes in the dark and risk running into a skunk. I went back to bed instead.
It is time for bed!
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