Adding a Clear Sky Clock widget/screenlet to Linux

I had to spend some time on this one, but I'm very happy with the results.

I use Ubuntu Linux, but I'm sure this will work for any distribution that supports screenlets.

1) Install Screenlets - http://www.screenlets.org/index.php/Download

2) Add the Widget Screenlet via - http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/show.php?content=70799&vote=good&tan=90243706

3) Create a new .html from the attachment and save it into the ~/.screenlets/Widget/widgets/ folder. You may wish to edit the site for your specific location. I had to browse the img source to find the proper URL.

4) Use screenlets to add the new CSC to your desktop and then change the widget to the newly created CSC.html file.

Also note that I set the widget to a meta refresh of 2 hours too!!!

ENJOY!

Mike

2008-09-01 Jupiter

Observation logs

Object: Jupiter

Planet

Origin:

ObservationManager - SolarSystem Catalog 1.0

Observer Michael A. Phillips Mr. Site Home Begin 2008-09-01 um 21:00:00-05:00 End 2008-09-01 um 21:10:00-05:00 Optics C8i Eyepiece PowerMate (V=812.8) Filter Astronomik LRGB Color Camera DMK21AF04 Sitzung 2008-09-01 um 21:00:00-05:00

Visual impression tech error night, new laptop not up to snuff/not configured properly. Then crashed once on software capture error, then human error, accidentally hit sudo halt. :( Got good caps despite extreme drops in temp. Especailly after using the Lymax cat cooler again while recovering from errors. Used old setup and refocused to get pretty good data!

---

References

Sessions: 2008-09-01 um 21:00:00-05:00

Begin:	2008-09-01 um 21:00:00-05:00
End:	2008-09-01 um 23:30:00-05:00

Weather:	Awesome high pressure in place for next 3 days just before TS Hanna S: 7-8/10 T: 4/5
Equipment:	I used: Ubuntu 8.04 Linux and custom coriander 8" Celestron C8i SCT DMK 21AF04 2.5x PowerMate Astronomik LRGB filters True Tek Color Filter Wheel with visu diag
Comments:	Tested custom coriander on T61 (Cepheus) with no success this night.

>> Observations <<

---

Observer: Michael A. Phillips Mr.

>> Observations <<

---

Site: Home

Longitude:	35.682°
Latitude:	-78.743°
Timezone:	UT-300 min

>> Observations <<

---

Optics: C8i

Type:	SCT
Vendor:	Celestron
Aperture:	203.0 mm
Focal length:	2032.0 mm

>> Observations <<

---

Eyepiece: PowerMate

Vendor:	TeleVue
Focal length:	2.5 mm

>> Observations <<

---

Filter: Astronomik LRGB

Typ:

Color

>> Observations <<

---

CCD Camera: DMK21AF04

Vendor:	The Image Source
Pixel:	640x480

>> Observations <<

---

Created: 10/02/2008 22:23:47

Jupiter animation from 2008-08-05: from 0218 to 0403 UT

Quickly processed animation of 18 frames from about 6 minutes apart and 60s per RGB-channel each

Old, Old, OLD Pluto posting

Cleaning house and getting organized!

http://www.geocities.com/maphilli14/Astronomy/pluto/index.html

Enjoy!

Mike

Mars Before and After the Phoenix Lander

While I didn't manage image anything as stunning as NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spotting the lander's decent with the chute. Nor did I manage to spot the features around the landing site as it was on the night-time side of Mars at the time of both my captures. I did manage to get 2 shots of Mars on two consecutive nights. One just before the Phoenix Lander's successful arrival and the next night just after the arrival.

Bad haze and clouds rolled in just as the 2nd night's capture began while my friend Robert Kintner and I setup for an observing session at my house.

Thanks for looking!



Mike

Saturn's Encaldus Transit in poor seeing 2008-04-25

It has been a poor winter and early spring for Astronomy, so I've been trying to take what I can get. Fighting poor (1/5) transparency and hazy clouds, I think I managed to eek out a portion of the Enceladus transit.

First is a simulation from Cartes du Ceil. (Click on for 2frame animation of what I think I've captured).


Next a still view of both times from the animation.


Thirdly, a composite of moons including Mimas (look closely near upper left of rings.



With labels of what I think i see (please post a response to let me know what you see)


My Flash Animation.
http://www.geocities.com/maphilli14/Astronomy/Saturn/Saturn-080425-Animation.html

Happy hunting!

Mike

Having fun with some bad seeing on Saturn

Trying to make the best out of some bad weather here. I played around with a lousy Saturn capture and uploaded the raw video to YouTube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3D2ITxaXlDw

And Posted my processed image on my Picasa Photo page:

http://picasaweb.google.com/maphilli14/MichaelAPhillipsAstronomyMechanicsGallery/photo#5192603427829467522

and I'm tying it all together with my blog! A bit of a front end portal to my.... well... hobby.

MIke

My 1st Saturn Storm or Enceladus?

The famous STrZ White Oval of '08:

http://www.geocities.com/maphilli14/Astronomy/Saturn/Saturn-080309-Animation.html

This may also be Enceladus? Can someone verify based on the following WIMP stats for each time?

Time 1: 2008-03-10 0258UT



















Time 2: 2008-03-10 0338UT

DMK Planetary settings in IC Capture

Best Jupiter: RGB, 60s per ch
RG = 1/15s @ 15fps
R Gain 811
G Gain 809
B Gamma = 10 (off)

B = 1/8s @ 7.5fps
B7 Gain = 931
B Gamma = 10 (off)

or

B = 1/15s @ 15fps
B15 Gain 985
B Gamma = 10 (off)

=========================================

Best Mars: RGB, 75s per ch
RGB = 1/30s @ 30fps
R Gain 645
G Gain 716
B Gamma = 10 (off)

B = 1/15s @ 15fps
B15 Gain = 782
B Gamma = 10 (off)

or

B = 1/30s @ 30fps
B30 Gain 796
B Gamma = 10 (off)

=========================================

Best Saturn: LRGB, 2000-3000frames per channel or 2min per?
Lum Moons = 1/4s @ 3.75fps
L Moons Gain = 1023 (full)
Gamma = 12 (~20%)

Lum 1/30s @ 30fps
L Gain = 935
B Gamma = 10 (off)

R 1/15s @ 15fps
R Gain = 1016
B Gamma = 10 (off)

G 1/8s @ 7.5fps
G Gain = 926
B Gamma = 10 (off)

B 1/8s @ 7.5fps
B Gain = 1023 (full)
B Gamma = 11

B 1/4s @ 3.75fps
B Gain = 877
B Gamma = 10 (off)

DMK 21AF04 via Linux Coriander and IC Capture FPS expermientation

Ubuntu Linux and Coriander

I'm looking into alternatives for using my DMK in a Linux environment.
So far I've looked at UCView (http://www.astronomycamerasblog.com/category/software-linux/) and Coriander (the Anthony Wesley version - http://acquerra.com.au/astro/software/coriander/)

What I'm noticing is that the settings I'm used to using:

1/8s @ 7.5fps
1/15s @ 15fps
..
1/60s ...

are not working properly in Coriander. I seem to be able to get 60fps properly (in a 60s capture I get about 3500+ frames of a theoretical 3600 frames). What's not working are 30fps and 15 fps. Is soon as I setup values lower than 1/30s @ 30fps it drops to 20fps. Which in and of itself is a setting I cannot get in IC capture on the same laptop (Thinkpad T60P). However, I'm stuck not being able to get values between 20fps and 60fps.

Settings screenshot























Receive settings (no display, which seems to slow it down tremendously)























Changing from 60fps to 30fps in the trigger or changing the exposure from 1/31 to 1/30 or even 1/45s doesn't seem to help much.

Anyone else that does not use IC Capture and non-mac software?



WINDOWS XP

Good Cloudy Nights thread here

.CSV File

FPS	Exposure	# of frames in 10seconds (3 samples)	Theoritical max
60	1/30	202
60	1/27
60	1/23
60	1/21
60	1/18
60	1/16
60	1/15	120
60	1/13
60	1/11
60	1/10	84
60	1/9
60	1/8	70
60	1/7	60
60	1/6	53
60	1/5
30	1/30	290, 297, 280	300
30	1/27	144, 144, 144	270
30	1/23	134, 134, 134	230
30	1/21	124, 124, 124	210
30	1/18	114, 114, 114	180
30	1/16	106, 106, 106	160
30	1/15	101, 101, 101	150
30	1/13	89	130
30	1/11	81	110
30	1/10	74	100
30	1/9	67	90
30	1/8	63	80
30	1/7	54, 54	70
15	1/6		60
30	1/5	44, 44	50
15	1/30	149, 149, 149	150
15	1/27	149	150
15	1/23	149	150
15	1/21	149	150
15	1/18		15
15	1/16	149, 149, 149	150
15	1/15	149	150
15	1/13	69, 69, 69	130
15	1/11	64	110
15	1/10	60, 60	100
15	1/9	55	90
15	1/8	53	80
15	1/7	46	70
15	1/6	42	60
15	1/5	44	50
7.5	1/8	74, 74	75
7.5	1/7	36, 36	70
7.5	1/6	33	60

Registax & Seeing

Registax processing of a RED channel on Mars from Dec 28, 2007 - 0315UT. I judged the seeing to be ~5/10 at the time of focus on Betelgeuse just minutes before this was taken. Post processing revealed so much detail I hesitate to judge the seeing as average. Looking at the graph and say that the lower left portion of 'good' frames was more like 7+/10 seeing and the top right portion of frames was the less than 5/10 seeing.

Astronomy Photo Gallery

http://picasaweb.google.com/maphilli14

Partial Planetary Processing Routine v5

Planetary Processing Routine

by Michael A. Phillips

1) Acquistion

1. TBD

2) Prep

3) Scripted VirtualDub Job Creation

1. Creates .avi -> .bmp job for VirtualDub

1. Download script here for windows: http://www.ericphelps.com/scripting/samples/VirtualDub/index.html

2. Load job in Vdub

4) Ninox Sorting

1. In Ubuntu linux with wine run:

1. Bash scirpt to run ninox

1. wine /Astronomy/Software/Ninox/ninox-2.29/ninox -width=180 -height=180 -cutx=440

-cuty=440 -qestimator -renumber=last -overwrite /Astronomy/2-Scratch/$1

2. Sort by rgb capture via bash script

Bash script that sorts LRGB image series into sub-folders for organization and processing - http://www.mediafire.com/?2jmfkmxmnxe

5) Registax

1. Drag and Drop from source (sometimes multiple drag & drops)

2. Align to taste

3. Optimize (not Optimize & Stack)

1. Reference with mild wavelets (3:10.5 , 4:15.2)

2. Mitchell Resample 2.0 for most work

4. Stack

1. Move slider from top to bottom to pick either:

1. Hotspot near hockey stick of bad seeing

2. 400-500 best

5. Wavelets

1. Mars:

1. Chris Go – like scheme

1. Initial layer = 2

2. 1:13.5 , 2:12.5 , 3:12.5

2. Save as 16-bit .tiff

6) AstraImage

1. Load raw mono channels one at a time (R-CG.tif)

2. Typical settings for my C8i, DMK21AF04 at Mitchell 2.0 resample are

1. Mars

1. Curve 2.0

2. Iterations 5.0

Clean up routine

A. Move final processed images from Sorted: 4-TempStacked to Save: 5-FinalSaves

B. Move .zip's from Sorted: 2-Scratch to Save: 3-Zipped-Ninoxes

C. Move / Delete .avi's from Transit: 1-Captures to Temp: 4-Captures-Sorted

D. Verify that Sorted: 2-Scratch is completely removed

E. Add relevant stats and comparison charts to Save: 5-FinalSaves

Mars Animation from Jan 4 0314 - 0444 UT

Mars Animation from Jan 4 0314 - 0444 UT
Originally uploaded by maphilli14

Getting started with posting images from my flickr site.

Tips on organizing your computer multimedia files

Step 1

Acquire the data from your camera(s) and place it in a folder called 1-Transit.
This data is stored here until you act upon it.

Step 2

Sort the data. While you sort be sure to move to another folder called 2-Sorted
Here you can categorize, convert and process your information.

Step 3

Make a backup copy somewhere else and after doing so move files to a folder called 3-Save
This way you can quickly identify which data is already a copy versus data that needs to be copied

Step 4

Make a second copy and remove the originals or move to a folder called 4-Temp
This allows you realize some disk savings by removing without risk of lost data.

Please post comments, this is WIP.

- anony