iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Canada’s C$1.7bn Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative has attracted 64 academics from around the world which includes poaching 48 US-based senior academics to join its top universities. 👏👏 www.ft.com/content/8cc4...

ft.com

Canada poaches 48 US-based top academics

Trump administration’s assault on universities boosts Ottawa’s efforts to attract top research talent

000

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

News wasn't good when I woke up this morning but I'm fine with what happened. Went for a hike between rain showers to get away from it and met this handsome boy who seemed happy to pose for a photo. Not a great shot but skeeters were swarming me when I stopped to snap it. #nature #frogs

010

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Heard something hit my livingroom window and found this little guy looking in. #nature #grasshopper #photography

030

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Watching the partial eclipse under cloudy southern Ontario skies. Resisted the temptation to pull out my camera this time, just watching the sun drifting in and out of the cloud cover. So silent yet so powerful. Really hits that we're on a big rock circling around space with other big rocks.

000

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Only did a short 4km hike this morning, already feeling like 27° with 97% humidity at 7:00 am. The tent caterpillars have really exploded in the 2 days since I was last there. A new obstacle to avoid as they hang down on a web from the trees! #nature #trees #hiking

010

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

My personal processing of the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula (M16). Columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and cosmic dust, sculpted by intense ultraviolet radiation and powerful stellar winds from nearby hot, newly formed massive stars. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScl more in Alt

Image of pillars of golden red interstellar dust in a field of white, blue and yellow stars.
Raw Data: NASA,ESA,CSA,STScl
Data Source: Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST)
Observation Program :JWST Program ID 2731 (Pl: Klaus Pontoppidan)
Wavelengths used: NIRCam f090w, f200w, f444w, f187n,f335m, f444w, f470n
Image Processing: Processed in Pixinsight by @lesiadub.bsky.social

Widefield image of a large orange cloud of interstallar dust and gas in the shape of an eagle with spread wings, taken by the JWST.
A small vertical rectangular box highlights the area of the pillars of creation location in the Eagle Nebula

1102

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

The UK MET office announced the driest July on record for England and Wales. The dramatic effects of the heat waves and drought are visible on a satellite comparison to 2025. www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/weat...

000

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

Tweaked, updated and cleaned up my computer yesterday and this morning, after constantly creating backups up my Pillars of Creation progress, no more crashes! Starless and Star images of Eagle Nebula (M16)! Processing raw FITS data from JWST. Onward! 🔭 Credit:NASA,ESA,CSA,STSci more details in Alt

The image shows 2 photos, one of columns of greenish interstellar dust formed into finger like peaks with the stars removed from the image. The second image is of multi coloured stars against a black background.
Data Source: Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST)
Observation Program: JWST Program ID 2731 (PI: Klaus Pontoppidan)
Wavelengths used : NIRCam F090w, F200w, F444w, F187n, F335m, F444w-F470n
Image Processing: @lesiadub.bsky.social

072

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

I've learned I need a better computer if I'm going to continue to process JWST raw data. 6 hours into processing the Pillars of Creation yesterday, I ran a star removal script that crashed the program, all progress was lost. My fault for checking email.😬 Starting again, image is before the crash.🔭

The image is of green hued dense clouds of interstellar dust with 3 large columns projecting upwards. They're against a background of blue/black space with bright stars all around
Crefits:
• Raw Data: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
• Data Source: Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST)
• Observation Program: JWST Program ID 2731 (PI: Klaus Pontoppidan)
• Wavelengths Used: NIRCam F090W (Blue), F200W (Green), F444W (Red), F187N (Green/Cyan), F335M (Yellow/Orange) , F444W-F470N (Orange/Red)
• Image Processing: @lesiadub.bsky.social

0103

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

**Deleted my first post about this target as I neglected to cite credits. Trying to keep/build Pixinsight skills so this is my processing of the Southern Ring Nebula NGC 3132, using JWST NIRCam data. I extracted the raw FITS frames from the MAST archive. 🔭 credits: NASA, ESA,CSA,STScI More in Alt.

Image of an oval intricate lacy orange-red dust cloud with a single bright star in the center bubble surrounded by a blue glow in the inner eye of the dust cloud
Raw Data: NASA,ESA,CSA, STScl
Data Source: Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST)
Data: raw FITS files extracted from archive Instrument JWST Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam)
Filters: f090w, f1130w, f444w-f470n Project: Early Release Observations (Proposal ID 2733)
Image Processing: @lesiadub.bsky.social

14213

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Hiked 5 k on the trail in a light rain this morning, now showered, dried,cup of tea in hand and ready to work on M16, Eagle Nebula data from JWST that downloaded while I was out. I just opened the first 2 filter files and I'm so moved by the stunning images, I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes.🔭

0101

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

If you haven't heard it yet, I highly recommend Professor Jim Al-Khalili's interview with Dr Anthony Fauci from April 2025 on The Life Scientific. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

The Life Scientific - Anthony Fauci on a medical career navigating pandemics and presidents - BBC Sounds

Dr Anthony Fauci discusses his career spanning the worlds of medicine and politics.

010

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

6 hrs trying to mount a 3D printed EAF bracket to my Redcat 51=2 trips to specialty fastener store because 1st one yielded wrong length screws + 3rd trip because I brilliantly sniped 3 square nuts into the floor vent. In the end, it doesn't fit. Manually focused for 5 years, can wait 2 more months.🔭

020

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

The CRASH Clock is an environmental stress indicator measuring collision risk in low Earth orbit. The projected timeframe has dropped from 164 days in 2018 down to 2.5 days by May 2026. 🛰🔭 outerspaceinstitute.ca/crashclock/

outerspaceinstitute.ca

CRASH Clock – Outer Space Institute

011

Reposted by @lesiadub.bsky.social

Jonathan Serrie @jonathanserrie.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Wildfire forces evacuation of international radio antenna facility in Spain that provides communications for NASA’s deep space missions. Potential damage has yet to be assessed. A NASA spokesperson says the agency has maintained uninterrupted spacecraft comms through a facility in California.

NASA spokesperson: "The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC), located in Robledo, Spain, about 37 miles (65 km) west of Central Madrid was evacuated on July 24, due to ongoing wildfires in the region. All personnel were safely evacuated. The wildfire has passed through the MDSCC. Any potential damage will be assessed when it is safe to do so. NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program is closely monitoring the wildfire activity in coordination with local authorities and the U.S. Embassy. In the meantime, the agency has seamlessly transitioned support for mission operations to the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California, ensuring continuity of service and uninterrupted support for spacecraft communications."

NASA spokesperson: "The safety and well‑being of our personnel is our highest priority and our thoughts are with the families and neighbors who are also experiencing the impact of the wildfires in the surrounding communities. We will provide updates as conditions evolve."

13019

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

For those planning to view and photograph the upcoming eclipse, don't let some intermittent clouds deter you. Use Auto Exposure Bracketing for rapidly changing conditions or be prepared to change settings on the fly. You can get some dramatic eclipse photos in the clouds too!🔭

070

Reposted by @lesiadub.bsky.social

PEIPolitical 🇨🇦 @peipolitical.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Carney: "I'm going to take this opportunity to thank President Scheinbaum and the Mexican people for sending 200 firefighters to help us with our fires here. That's what friends do when you have crisis and fires." #cdnpoli

392183273817

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The Veil Nebula. 9 hours of total of new integration time. It's starting to come along, 9 more hours to go until I move on. Still struggling with processing but I'm getting there. Nerd stuff in ALT #astrophotography

The image is of two blue and red nebulae, with faint filaments of blue and red gas clouds in betweeen them. Taken with Redcat 51, Nikon D5600, IDAS LPS D2 N5 light pollution filter, Starfield 50 mm guide scope, ZWO ASI 120mm mini guide camera, HEQ5 pro mount. 180 X 120s + 182 X 60 s exposures. Stacked and processed in Pixinsight.

2406

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Looks like it might take a month or two to get my eaf mount from Europe so a friend kindly 3D printed this one to tide me over. Have been pondering how to mount it all morning and my brain hurts. Any astrophotographers who enjoy puzzles out there? #astrophotography

The image is of a Redcat 51 v1 telescope with a Nikon D5600 camera mounted on it andca black 50 mm guide scope with a mini guide camera mounted. Sitting in the forefront is a small rectangular red electronic autofocuser module sitting in a Black 3D printed mounting bracket and beside that is a round black 2 piece ring with grooves on the outer side.

140

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Andromeda reunited with all it's sparkly bits. At the top of the image, is blue Nu Andromedae.It's a binary star system, 2 stars orbiting tightly around each other, so tightly that they appear as one. Reading about that when I stacked my very first Andromeda image launched me into studying Physics🔭

0203

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

A starless view of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31. It was my first real astro target and it'll always be my favorite. 2.5 million light years away, 220K-260K light years across. It's believed to be about 10 billions years old. #astrophotography

1457

Reposted by @lesiadub.bsky.social

Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 16/07/2026

Canadian firefighters hauled ass to get down here when half of Los Angeles was on fire last year. What a characteristically classy way to repay that favor.

49551401670

Reposted by @lesiadub.bsky.social

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 17/07/2026

Depressing but useful site simulating what the billionaires and military are doing to low-earth orbit with all their satellites 🧪🔭 cicasanueva.github.io/mas-satelite...

cicasanueva.github.io

Más satélites que estrellas

De 2.000 a casi 16.000 satélites activos en siete años. Explora su crecimiento orbital y sus efectos sobre la astronomía.

27934

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

I've been struggling trying to process all my data now that Pixinsight, Seti Astro and I are getting along. SNR and focus is a big issue, soooo, I'm upgrading my gear! 3 stage process. Stage 1, just ordered an EAF kit. Next, ZWO533 Pro Mono Camera and filter wheel. Weeeeeeee! #astro

130

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Current conditions in Cambridge, smoke from wildfires burning in Northern Ontario. A reminder that in 2925, the Ford government cut $42 million from Ontario’s wildland firefighting budget, and nearly $4 million from emergency preparedness. #Ontario #wildfires

120

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

The closest forest fires to our region is ~ 1,000 kms away yet I've never seen our air quality and skies this bad. #forestfire #ontario

020

Reposted by @lesiadub.bsky.social

Vidman 📺 Dan Lauckner @vidman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

our air quality in Southern Ontario is the worst in the world right now according to #IQAir

123

Reposted by @lesiadub.bsky.social

Jules Sherred (he/him) @geekyjules.julessherred.com · 15/07/2026

Kid1, who is both an conductor and engineer for CN and has driven trains through SK wildfires himself, just sent me this video from Ontario. When I tell you they arent paid enough!!! vt.tiktok.com/ZSXkuEadE/

8942921545

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Canada is now solidly into wildfire season. Stuck back inside again, it's time to finish some books.

000

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Added new data to my Veil Nebula. Total 9.3 hours total integration on 3 nights. Redcat 51, Nikon D5600 with LPS-D2-N5 filter , shot in bortle 7 back yard. Processed in Pixinsight with newly downloaded Seti Astro tools. #astro

0111

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

That horrible feeling when you wake up at 4 am to start calibration frames only to find your laptop died 20 minutes after you started your run and went to bed, because you forgot to plug it in.😪 🔭 #facepalm #amateurmistake

280

Reposted by @lesiadub.bsky.social

Ethan Siegel @startswithabang.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Forget seeing the Universe’s beginning. It’s already been erased The Big Bang gave us our cosmic origin story, and inflation took us back even before that, to an earlier stage. So where did inflation come from? That information's all been erased! bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro

bigthink.com

Forget seeing the Universe's beginning. It's already been erased

We used to think the Big Bang started it all. Then we realized that something else came before it, erasing everything that existed prior.

1237

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

I'm suddenly reminded of why I have/had so many unprocessed runs in my external drives.🫤 #astrophotography

140

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

All set to get a few more hours of Veil Nebula tonight. Rare clear night but I expect a lot of sensor noise from the heat. Ignore the carnage on the ground, had to give my Forsythia a buzz cut because it was in the way. #astrophotography #astro

An image of a heavy telescope tripod and mount with 2 telescopes mounted on the top with cameras attached. On the ground is grass covered by Forsythia tree branches that have been cut.

1201

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

"Hey. So, word on the street is you can hook me up with some kibble." #notmycat

Image is of a striped cat with green eyes and a pink-red nose peering through the screen of a door.

000

Reposted by @lesiadub.bsky.social

Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

And that's a wrap! Unlike the NASA DART mission, Hayabusa2 was never designed for flyby (or impact) observations, so I think we now have to wait until the spacecraft can be rotated to allow the high gain antenna to transmit images to the Earth. My guess is we might see something tomorrow... 🤞

Screen shot from the live feed, showing the Hayabusa2 control room where everyone is giving a celebratory high-five!

2445

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Found this in a 'needs work' folder. The coveted 'wedding ring' shot of the total Solar eclipse April 8, 2024. Shot under mostly cloudy conditions and through tears because my sister had just died 2 days before. Nikon D5600 and 300mm zoom lens. Poorly focused but, tears. #astro #astrophotography

An image of total black sky with the black moon almost completely covering the sun. Visible is a faint halo around the moon, a bright small sliver of sunlight at the bottom right edge and a red arc of solar prominence at the bottom.

4274

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Pleiades, the mythological 7 beautiful sister nymphs turned into stars by their father Zeus because of the relentless pursuit by the pesky Orion the Hunter. 3.8 hours total integration, Redcat 51, Nikon D5600, stacked and processed in Pixinsight. #astro #astrophotography

An image of the night sky centered on 7 bright blue stars clustered together amongst a wispy white cloud of dust that reflects blue light from the young blue large stars.

010

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Friends are always disappointed when they come over if I've set up my telescope.Despite efforts to explain the astrophotography process,they still wait for Hubble type images to appear after each exposure.For example, 1 raw image of M51 compared to 82 stacked and processed #astro #astrophotography

010

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Whirlpool Galaxy taken April 2023 and finally processed today.120 sec exposures, 2.7 hrs total integration time.Taken with Redcat 51,Nikon D5600 and LPS-D2-N5.The photons from that galaxy traveled 31 million light years to reach my scope! Note the 5 distant galaxies URQ! #astronomy #astrophotography

030

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Cleaning up astro files in my external drive and almost tossed this one, Pinwheel galaxy is too deep a target for my Redcat 51 and Bortle 7 backyard. I'm glad I didn't even though it does suck! Imaged on May 29, 2023 and captured Supernova SN 2023ixf! #astrophotography #astronomy

020

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

It's 45 degrees C (with humidex) outside so a lot of neglected astro files are going to get processed today. First one up, Orion Nebula taken in September 2022 with my Nikon d5600 and Redcat 51. 15 minutes total integration time, processed in Pixinsight. #astrophotography

000

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Processing more old data now that Pixinsight and I are finally getting along. Ambitiously targeted Bubble Nebula and star cluster N52 from 2022 with my Redcat 51 and Nikon D5600. 83 X 150 sec exposures, calibration frames taken as well. #astrophotography

010

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Veil Nebula.2.5 hrs integration.Redcat 51, Nikon D5600 with LPS-D2-N5 LP filter and processed in Pixinsight. "The nitrogen in our DNA,the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood,the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars.We are made of star dust" Carl Sagan

010

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

North American Nebula processed tonight. Taken with Redcat 51 + Nikon D5600 in my bortle 7 garden. Processed in Pixinsight. #astrophotography

140

lesiadub.bsky.social @lesiadub.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Rethinking my choice of wall paper lining the walls of the exam room when I'm trying to hunt down a big wasp.

000