iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

“Ptero” estas flugilo. 🪽Heliko estas ronda formo kiu pligrandiĝas de komenco. 🌀 Do helikoptero flugas per flugiloj kiu movas helike 🚁

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

In the comic “Girl Genius” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_Ge... basically all autonomons are referred to as “Clanks”. GG premiered in 1995. The Star Wars reference is from 2005.

en.wikipedia.org

Girl Genius - Wikipedia

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Our world got both a little bigger and a little smaller. On the train we met the sister of a Dineh potter whom Kathleen bought a piece from. She was riding home to meet her brother in Gallup NM. We learned a little more about a part of the Native American world.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Eh- another two days. Less than a week total.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

But, you’re implying a new scope. How big is it? How long will we suffer from your urge to improve?

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

2” = two nights. Could be worse…

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

How many cloudy nights can we expect because of you?

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

This part of New Mexico does not look at all like Kansas.

Photograph through window of the train. In the distance, a gray green mountain rises to a very sharp peak in the center of the frame.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Just got into Colorado. It looks a lot like Kansas.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Started second leg, Chicago to Kingman AZ. Third leg will be bus to Las Vegas. Finally, rental car to Bryce Canyon for #Perseids.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Due in Chicago about 9 am tomorrow.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Made it to WashingtonDC at 4pm, 6 hrs ride, about 30 mintes later than scheduled.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Made it to Petersburg. Next stop Richmond.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

For those who love basketball, but hate team sports…

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Reposted by @joncst.bsky.social

Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 24/06/2026

I make a comic for @cornellbirds.bsky.social's Living Bird magazine called Birdword. It's about ornithological terminology. Here's my latest one.

A piece of paper torn from a dictionary that says "hybridization: noun. When birds belonging to two different species produce offspring. Hybrid offspring often display a mix of characteristics from both parents' species." The next panel shows a labeled Common Hybrids showing a golden-winged warbler and blue-winged warbler hybrid, a beautiful blue and yellow songbird with a black mask, and a mallard x northern pintail, with a green head, rusty breast and long curled tail. The third panel, labeled Rare Hybrids, shows a yellow warbler x black-throated blue warbler, a pale gray and yellow songbird with gray markings, and a green jay x blue jay, a bird with a black mask on a blue face and a fancy blue tail. The fourth panel, labeled Hybrids I Want to See, shows a ruby-throated hummingbird x grater sage grouse hybrid, with a tiny head, tiny wings, and huge air sacs for display, and a northern cardinal x anhinga, a red bird with a long snaky neck and tiny cardinal head.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

"Tri kantantaj porkoj diras <<la-la-la>>."

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

I used a black #Seestar S50 on www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/u.... Put a layer of aluminum foil on the sun side for cooling, & displayed the image on a library projector. Worked beautifully, but was only about 70% total. Scope was outside building, phone hooked to projector in conference room.

timeanddate.com

Apr 8, 2024 – Partial Solar Eclipse in North Carolina, United States

Eclipse visible in North Carolina – where can you see it, what time does it happen, and which 7 towns and cities have the best cloud and weather forecasts?

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

If not already tried, "AI denoise" does wonders on graininess. You can apply it while #Seestar is still imaging, or if create a plan, can apply it after imaging is finished. After AI denoise, I like to tweak brightness up about 20% and contrast between 10-20%.

Galaxy M100, a face-on spiral is at the center of the image. A small edge-on spiral is below and to the left, while an airplane was traveling from the bottom left towards the center right. This is the raw image, before AI denoising, and tweaking the brightness and contrast

Spiral galaxy M100 is at the center. This is the processed version of the previous image, with AI denoise reducing the grain, and brightness and contrast tweaked to give a brighter galaxy and darker background.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

NGC 2903 in Leo is a 9th magnitude barred spiral with tightly wrapped arms. About 11 minutes (out of 20 wall-clock). Located near 𝜆 (lambda) Leonis (near the top of the sickle) it's worth zooming in a bit to see detail. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2903

At the center of a sparse star field with few bright stars, the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903 is not quite face-on, and runs diagonally upwards fro left to right at about a 45 º angle. It appears fairly small in this image due to low magnification (about 40x). It has a small bright core with a central bar extending out both sides (though more pronounced on the lower left. From the bar the spiral arms are at first very tightly wound, then more loosely, with faint portions extending fairly far away from the central portion.

It is quite a nice galaxy, though overshadowed by the more famous "Leo Triplet" (M65/M66/3628) and the "Leo Double-Triple" (M105/M95/M96/3384/3389)

Imaged with an S50, then "AI denoised", with manual tweaking of the brightness and contrast.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

My sister recommends consulting the I Ching instead. She says Tarot is too depressing.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Watched the #occultation from near Wilmington, NC (USA). The star #Regulus steadily approached the $moon (really the other way around, of course), then at 8:34 PM local time, it was gone. Skyscanner 100 🔭 with 21-8 mm zoom eyepiece for about 30 power.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

The #Seestar S50 🔭 did an amazing job on this object from my location near Wilmington NC. Imaged on 08 April 2026 as part of the Astronomical League's "Caldwell observing program".

At the center of a star-filled image, the Centarus A galaxy (also known as NGC 5128 or Caldwell 77) is a not-quite-round warm glow, with a prominent dark lane running diagonally across it from lower center-left to upper center-right. The lane has small brighter areas, small dots at the left, then a large irregular patch in the center of the lane. Zooming in on the image rewards you with intriguing details.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

An alt-text to be proud of! Also, quite a kid there.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

C/2025 R3 is still visible, barely between rising & dawn. #Seestar S50 🔭w/plan: 4 images 10 mins, fromstarting 5:30. Third captured 5 of 10 minutes. Last 4 of 10, affected by moon and & increasing twilight. Tweaked contrast & brightness images to bring out any detail in tail.

C/2025 R3 in pre-dawn

The comet is still visible, in an increasingly narrow window between it rising and dawn.

I set the S50 out with a plan to take 4 images of 10 minutes each, starting at 5:30, when the comet would reach 15 degrees above the horizon. This is the third. It captured only about 5 out of the 10 minutes, affected by both the nearby moon and the increasing twilight.

I had to tweak the contrast and brightness to bring out any detail in the tail.

These images seem to show the tail in three parts: short broad spikes to either side of the longer "traditional" tail.

Pre-dawn image of comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS)

The comet is still visible, in an increasingly narrow window between it rising and dawn.

I set the S50 out with a plan to take 4 images of 10 minutes each, starting at 5:30, when the comet would reach 15 degrees above the horizon. The first two images failed. This is the last image only 4 minutes out of 10 wall-clock time. Even the 4 minutes was affected by both the nearby moon and the increasing twilight. I had to tweak the contrast and brightness to bring out any detail in the tail.

These images seem to show the tail in three parts: short broad spikes to either side of the longer "traditional" tail.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

For comparison, here’s the same galaxy taken with an S 50, about 90 minutes of 10 second exposures #seestar 🔭

Galaxy M101 in Ursa Major. It is a beautiful face on spiral galaxy. The outermost arm has a distinctive kink which makes it instantly recognizable.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

“The longer you wear them the stronger they get…”

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS), imaged with a #Seestar S50 🔭 just before dawn. 9 minutes of 10s frames, AI denoised and contrast and brightness tweaked in the Seestar app. Currently brighter than 6th mag, so in theory visible unaided-eye. Probably have better luck with binoculars or 'scope, though.

The comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) glows against a backdrop of stars. The comet has a bright greenish-blue head, and a long tenuous tail extending out past the top of the frame. Seestars don't track comets very well, so there may be some blurring, but it's really quite a nice image for being so close to dawn.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Galaxy Centaurus A (aka NGC 1258, or C77), imaged with a #Seestar S50 🔭. 21 minutes of 10s frames internally stacked, then AI de-noised with brightness & contrast tweaked. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaur... I like the strong dust lane with internal structure across the center.

At the center of a rich star field is a subtly colored galaxy, almost round, with a dark dust lane diagonally from the lower center left to the top center right. The dust lane shows internal structure of dark bands with a lighter overlay from right to about 1/2 way to the left. Zooming in shows the galaxy is somewhat irregularly shaped, not perfectly round. A chain of stars extends from the lower left diagonally up to just above the galaxy, and another arc of stars stretches from about the half way point of the chain horizontally to just below the galaxy.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

How long they'll last? Or how long they'll survive....

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

One thing the S30 did capture nicely is the asterism beside the galaxy. I call it the Scythe, but some call it Jaws. Very pretty rendition of that.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Partly depends on local sky brightness. I’m lucky to live under LM 5 sky, and have access to LM 6 just 30 minutes away.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Here's the center part of M44, imaged during the close #Mars pass last May. #Seestar S50 🔭 using framing to capture both the cluster and the planet.

The core of M44 (the Beehive cluster) stretches diagonally upward from the lower left corner. About a dozen brighter stars appear amongst many ore dimmer ones. In the top right corner the planet Mars is an orange(ish) over-exposed glow.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Mi komencis per tiu libro antaux kvardek kvin jaroj

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

When I was growing up as a new astronomer back in the '70s and 80's, the "Pinwheel Galaxy" referred to M33. Apparently usage is changing: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinwhee... I blame SIMBAD: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIMBAD

en.wikipedia.org

Pinwheel Galaxy (disambiguation) - Wikipedia

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Dankon. Post iom da penso, mi nun prefers la pli simpla "Ĉiu bildo bezonas alternativan tekston"

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Antaŭ ol mi aldonis la alternativan tekston por bildo, mi vidis ĉi tiun averton: "Al unu aŭ pli da bildoj mankas alternativa teksto." Tiu aspektis strange al mi. Mi eble preferus "unu aŭ pli da bildoj mankas alternativan tekston", Eble la "al" celas eviti "alternativaJn tekstoJn"? Opinioj?

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Open star cluster M50 in Monoceros (the unicorn). 6 minutes of 10s exposures with an #Seestar #S50 🔭 Fairly easy to find (located about 1/4 of the way from Sirius to Procyon), this cluster looks quite nice in just about any telescope, as well as my 10x50 #binoculars.

An astro-image of open cluster M50 in Monoceros. Two or three brightish stars, a dozen or so less so, and another 2-3 dozen fainter ones stand out agains a rich winter Milky Way background. The cluster is centered, covers nearly half the frame left to right, and about 1/5 of the frame top to bottom. It is elongated left to right. It looks a bit like a bug with an elongated proboscis pointing down, sweeping arcs of stars to the left and right for legs, with a bulbous abdomen at the top of the cluster.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

I think the S50 🔭's greater magnification and aperture do help. Here's 6 minutes on M104 from my back yard (LM 5). #Seestar #M104 #Galaxy

Against a star filled dark background, M104 (the Sombrero galaxy) is almost perfectly edge-on. It is showing off its dark lane, with the galactic core bulge visible above and below the disk.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

TIL that that small bright bar below and to the right of Mare Nectaris is part of Rupes Altai, located near the center of the larger feature, and highlighted by the angle of the illumination. Zoomed in in this image from a couple days later. #Seestar S50🔭 #moon

An image of the northern half of a waxing crescent moon. Mare Nectar's is the grey area, with several craters curling around it. a short distance away is a short bright bar, which is part of the much longer Rupes Altai, part of the outer edge of the mare.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Showing the moon in a 10" Coulter 🔭 to a guest. Seeing was only adequate, but they were still impressed. When the moon moved to edge of FOV, a new lunar feature was revealed. Cell phone afocal thru eyepiece. #moon #spider #surprise! I may need to relocate the unexpected guest.

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Don't forget sidus ludovicianum! Named by a butt-kissing court astronomer after Mad King Ludvig. #starNames

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Spring peepers and others, including the occasional toad. #Frogs

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

"That is the sort of arrant nonsense up with which I will not put" -- W. Churchill

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

The Ship's Baby changes from "fat Vicky" to Bridget. A girl who asserts herself, and knows her self well. "I knew I was old enough to be a human sacrifice" #SecretWater #SwallowsAndAmazons

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joncst.bsky.social @joncst.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

"La plej bela estas tohovobohuo"

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