Scattered Thoughts . . .

I finished post-processing the two remaining sets of images from my first telescope observations with my new telescope. For a "first light" observation session with a new telescope... and never having done any astrophotography previously... these images turned out quite well! These two resulting images (each at a super-resolution of 96 megapixels) provide a much closer look at Montes Apenninus... a lunar mountain range named after the Apennine Mountains in Italy.  This rugged lunar mountain range towers to almost 18,000 feet in height. The total length of the mountain range is approximately 370 miles. I point this out because most people assume that the moon is relatively level and dotted with craters simply by its appearance from Earth. The reality is that the moon has a mostly hilly, rolling landscape and, obviously, some areas consist of towering mountain ranges as well. This particular rugged and towering mountain range ends at the crater Eratosthenes... Just beyon

My health has been rather lousy lately so today is another "down day" of inactivity while my health recovers.  I've been rather frustrated and anxious lately about accomplishing nothing around the house to the point that my doctors are a bit concerned because they feel that I am having some heart issues. I'm convinced it is just frustration and a bit of anxiety causing these relatively minor heart issues. Unfortunately, the more I have to sit around recovering, the more frustrated and anxious I get. There is a lot I want to do and accomplish but my health is refusing to cooperate. And, to be honest, we've been spending far too much time at the hospital and medical appointments. I'm frustrated. So, as I sit here again while my health recovers, I've decided to revisit the moon images from the other night.  I shot this series of images in two formats... a compressed jpeg format for simplicity and a RAW format for more detail. I always shoot both jpegs a

I spent a very short while observing Jupiter and four of its moons tonight. I had intended to stay up late to do some serious observing with my good telescope as well as do some astrophotography. Unfortunately, I was completely exhausted before dinnertime (and that was after a three hour nap) so I decided to make it a very short night and only view through our little telescope.  The small telescope is far easier to set up... it is far lighter... and, since I can't really do any astrophotography with this small scope, it is far less complicated with far fewer parts. I was able to fill my pockets with a few eyepieces and just grab the telescope already on its mount and head out to the backyard. It is very much a grab-and-go telescope so it is far easier to use at the last moment. The viewing was surprisingly good tonight. I was able to easily see four of Jupiter's moons and the bands on Jupiter were clearly visible. My biggest complaint was that the focuser on this small tele