on astronomy, electronics, music—and whatever else I’m up to.
on astronomy, electronics, music—and whatever else I’m up to.
Every spring, the approach of the Messier Marathon brings a familiar surge of excitement. During the new moon in March it is possible to see all 110 Messier objects in one night. It’s one of the great traditions in amateur astronomy—a shared…
When my wife Lynn and I decided to retire we wanted to downsize and move out of the home in Danville, California that we lived in for 29 years. We wanted to move to a place that is less crowded…
There’s nothing like looking at Jupiter (well, ok, Saturn is pretty good too!) I made this photo in March, 2017 by capturing 2000 video frames with Firecapture and then selecting the best 15% of the frames and stacking them with…
Maintaining a log or notes of visual observations of the night sky is a rewarding practice for amateur astronomers and casual stargazers alike. Whether observing with the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope, a systematic approach to recording observations can…
On the night of April 22, 2022, under clear skies, I captured an image of the Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888), located in the constellation Cygnus. This emission nebula is a glowing shell of gas created by the stellar winds of…
The Ring Nebula (M57) is one of the most iconic planetary nebulae in the night sky, located in the constellation Lyra approximately 2,300 light-years from Earth. Discovered in 1779 by Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix and Charles Messier, this stunning celestial…
My interest in electronics goes back quite a long way. When I was in the 7th grade, my dad helped me build a crystal radio. I remember the fascination of hearing a radio signal with a device that had no batteries at…
This post reviews some of the basic quantities and units of measure used in electronics. If you are already comfortable with the meaning of quantities such as 9 volts, 3 mA, 12k ohms and 100 Watts, this is will be…
Introduction In the first experiment I introduced the breadboard and how to connect components without soldering. In this experiment I will build my first complete working electrical circuit. A circuit is simply a continuous path through which electric current can flow. If the…