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January 23, 2026
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HomeMacastronomer

Macastronomer

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@macastronomer

Active 2 months, 4 weeks ago
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  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic 2024 Observing in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 4 months ago

    Anybody observing anywhere on Friday? It looks like it’s going to be “Glorious!”

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    Macastronomer replied to the topic Observing tonight? in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 4 months ago

    Thanks Yosef.

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    Macastronomer started the topic 2024 Observing in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 4 months ago

    It’s looking good for Wednesday night. I’m thinking about taking Thursday morning off so I can stay up late and observe.

    Anybody care to join me at Root River Park… or somewhere else?

    Duane

    PS. I posted this in the old observing thread as well. I thought it was time to start a new observing thread.

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic Observing tonight? in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 4 months ago

    It’s looking good for Wednesday night. I’m thinking about taking Thursday morning off so I can stay up late and observe.

    Anybody care to join me at Root River Park… or somewhere else?

    Duane

    PS. I’m going to start a new thread and place this there too. 175 pages of posts is probably enough. 🙂

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic Observing tonight? in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    Thanks for the news from Gameheaven and the sun pic.

    I went out last night to image T Cor Bor, and I took a shot of the Milky Way while I had the setup aligned. When I want to get out from under the bright part of the Rochester Dome I head to 23 St. NE. It’s little dead-end road off of county rd 11.  The sky is faded to the East and straight…[Read more]

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    Macastronomer replied to the topic Orion website, telescope.com in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    If you want a crazy bright laser… the one that I bought on Amazon that disappeared was listed as this:

    UNBIU Long Range Laser Pointer High Power – Green Laser Pointer Flashlight with Adjustable Focus for Night Astronomy, Outdoor Camping, Hunting, and Hiking – USB Charging

    It was only $13. But like I said, I basically treat it like a gun. I…[Read more]

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic Orion website, telescope.com in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    I posted to this thread yesterday, and my comment is not here today. This site is very frustrating. I’ll do it over again.

    My favorite pointer is:

    https://www.opticsplanet.com/z-bolt-military-pride-green-laser-briefing-pointer.html

    I don’t know if you can get it as a non-military pride version or not.

    What I like about it is that it has a…[Read more]

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic RAC Logo Redesign in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    Of course this still requires two logos, one for dark on light and one for light on dark.

    RAC Logo Inverse

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer started the topic RAC Logo Redesign in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    Many years ago I created the RAC logo, and it although it has changed a bit since then I have always been troubled with the whole thing because it isn’t a two-tone logo, meaning it can’t be made with a single color. A single color logo makes it much easier to put on hats, shirts, or a vinyl cutout which is what I’m trying to do right now.

    The…[Read more]

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    Macastronomer replied to the topic Observing tonight? in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    Great info. I always thought it was an 11 year cycle but that must be short of what’s happening now.

    Josef, thanks for the spell check. I’ve been saying it wrong for years. 😮

    And thanks for turning out the light.

    Check this out. I got a Cricut for my daughter and I decided to print out a tribute to Dean for my scope. Just added this…[Read more]

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic Observing tonight? in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    Also, Joseph spotted this… Corpuscular rays shooting upward!

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic Observing tonight? in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    Ooooo….   What scope and mount did you get? Do tell!

    I’m thinking the same thing… I want the rig I want and it’s taking forever to get it; but eventually I’ll get there. I keep seeing cheaper compromising equipment for less and I keep ignoring it, but it’s so tempting.

    Equipment I need to get to finish my setup: Astro-Camera (preferably the…[Read more]

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic Observing tonight? in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    Here’s the Milky Way shot I took last night:

    Milky Way from Root River

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic Observing tonight? in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    That is one big sun spot! I think we’re now past the active part of the sun’s cycle and it’s supposed to be gradually calming down. That seems to be taking a while.

     

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic Observing tonight? in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 5 months ago

    Thanks for posting. Looking up it was pretty good. I could see all the stars in the Little Dipper and a lot more within that I normally can’t see. But that was looking most upward. Looking at the northern horizon was hazy (see pic).

    Looking east and west, all but the brightest stars disappeared.

    Great sky while looking upward, but the lower you…[Read more]

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer started the topic Who all is Planning on Eagle Bluff? August ‘24 in the forum Star Parties 1 year, 5 months ago

    Just wondering, who all is planning on being at Eagle Bluff on Friday?

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic Blaze Star in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 6 months ago

    The Blaze Star is probably going to saturate on my camera… I’m going to keep working it out and see if I can figure out how to get the whole light curve. I don’t think my camera can get the whole 8 magnitudes in the same exposure setting. It will be interesting. I’m glad it hasn’t blown yet.

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer started the topic Blaze Star in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 6 months ago

    After a few nights of observation and imaging, I think I’ve settled on a camera setting to image the Blaze Star, T Cor Bor. The issue isn’t getting a good image of the star as it is, the issue is getting a good image of the star that isn’t saturated or adulterated after it blows. For that reason I need to save room in the exposure gamut of the…[Read more]

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer started the topic 55 Years Ago Today! in the forum General Discussion 1 year, 6 months ago

    Apollo 11 Moon Landing…

  • Profile picture of Macastronomer

    Macastronomer replied to the topic T Cor Bor in the forum Meetings 1 year, 6 months ago

    Answer to Question.

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Upcoming Events

Jan
23
Fri
6:00 pm CANCELED: Public Presentation & ... @ Oxbow Park
CANCELED: Public Presentation & ... @ Oxbow Park
Jan 23 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
CANCELED: Public Presentation & Sky Observing 2026-01/23 @ Oxbow Park | Byron | Minnesota | United States
CANCELED due to extremely cold weather Presentation by Randy Hemann When the Sky Glows: How the Northern Lights Work Auroras have inspired myths and scientific inquiry across various cultures and throughout history. In this talk, we will explore the interactions between solar activity, Earth’s magnetic field, atmospheric chemistry, and human perception that create these stunning light displays. The colors and [...]
Feb
10
Tue
7:00 pm RAC Monthly Meeting February 2026 @ RCTC Room EA103 (use the southeastern entrance to RCTC.)
RAC Monthly Meeting February 2026 @ RCTC Room EA103 (use the southeastern entrance to RCTC.)
Feb 10 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Please come to the Rochester Astronomy Club monthly meetings! These meetings are free and open to the public. Each month we will try to bring you a different presentation and share observing notes and tips. Agenda will be published on the Sunday before the meeting. We are offering these meetings in a hybrid fashion, you can attend either in person [...]
Feb
27
Fri
6:30 pm Public Sky Observing 2026-02/27 @ Oxbow Park
Public Sky Observing 2026-02/27 @ Oxbow Park
Feb 27 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Public Sky Observing 2026-02/27 @ Oxbow Park | Byron | Minnesota | United States
Presentation by Randy Hemann When the Sky Glows: How the Northern Lights Work Auroras have inspired myths and scientific inquiry across various cultures and throughout history. In this talk, we will explore the interactions between solar activity, Earth’s magnetic field, atmospheric chemistry, and human perception that create these stunning light displays. The colors and visibility of auroras depend on altitude, [...]
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