Dark Sky Geek

Combining two of my passions: Astronomy and ... cycling! 🚴🏻💨 😁 If you would like to learn more about the amazing Lick Observatory (in the background of the selfie), check out this video I produced a while back: https://youtu.be/qmtlYy-6vj4. Clear skies!

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1 week ago | [YT] | 25

Dark Sky Geek

Wow, check out how Vixen telescopes are made (in Japan) in this video on the プロセスX (Process X) channel: https://youtu.be/_263B0-yXas

3 months ago | [YT] | 11

Dark Sky Geek

Summer has officially started out here in California, which means that I will be collecting some data over the coming nights to prepare for the next video. Stay tuned! 🔭

3 months ago | [YT] | 9

Dark Sky Geek

After seeing that some people had claimed having some success cooling ZWO planetary cameras (someone even sells a rather expensive "Active Cooling Kit" for ZWO planetary cameras...), I gave it a try. My setup consisted of a Peltier module, a heat sink, a fan, and a control system (I applied some thermal paste between the Peltier module and the body of the camera). The result is out: These cooling kits do NOT work. Like, at all! In spite of doing a great job at cooling the body of the camera (it was really cold!), the sensor temperature (reported by the ZWO driver) did not change all that much, and darks had pretty much the same amount of noise (measured in PixInsight) whether the cooler was on or off. This did not surprise me all that much to be honest. The sensor is in contact with neither the Peltier module nor the body of the camera. The PCB that it is soldered onto is actually a very good thermal insulator. Oh well. I wasted a few dollars and a couple of hours. But the lesson here is that you should never take what you read in forums as gospel. There is a lot of BS in this hobby, and we have to call it out when we see it. Anyway, onto the next project now... Clear skies, everyone!

5 months ago | [YT] | 23

Dark Sky Geek

While in 大阪 (Osaka), I decided to briefly swing by KYOEI-OSAKA. The store itself is very small. The staff is friendly, but beware, they don’t speak English all that much (Let me put it to you this way: My Japanese is way better than their English 😂) You can order online directly from them and have the equipment shipped to Europe or the US, so that is something to keep in mind if you are interested in Vixen or Takahashi equipment. Here a few photos I snapped from inside the store. Clear skies!

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6 months ago | [YT] | 32

Dark Sky Geek

While vacationing in San Diego, my wife and I got to see today’s SpaceX launch of a Falcon 9 rocket taking off from Vandenberg Space Force base. Impressive! I even saw the fairing burn off in the lower atmosphere! I didn’t know that rocket launches could be so cool 😎 Clear skies, everyone!

8 months ago | [YT] | 11

Dark Sky Geek

I just completed my first project, M33 — The Triangulum Galaxy, with the Takahashi FSQ85 I purchased last June in Tokyo (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsARO... for the full story). This image uses ~12 hours of broadband data captured during CalStar 2024 (Lake San Antonio, California) and 4 nights worth of narrowband data (Ha and OIII) captured from my backyard (San Jose, California). Processing in PixInsight. Hope you like it!

9 months ago | [YT] | 58

Dark Sky Geek

Hi everyone! Just a quick update to let you know that it might be a little while until I am able to post new videos again. My real job is keeping me very busy, and with the upcoming holidays and family obligations, I won’t have much spare time. Until then, here are a few photos of things I will be talking about on the channel soon. Clear skies!

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9 months ago | [YT] | 32

Dark Sky Geek

Such a great name! Well played, タカハシ, well played… 😂

10 months ago | [YT] | 17

Dark Sky Geek

After a much needed summer break, I am back! I’ll be publishing a new video later this week. If you are curious about spectroscopy, you’re going to love this one! 🌈

11 months ago | [YT] | 12