Single 3 minute frame of the Ring nebula (M57) in Lyra. This is a shell of gas expelled by a dying star. In the cropped version the remains of that star, a white dwarf, can be seen at the center of the ring.
Great night for astrophotography. Guiding is working great with total RMS error of 0.3-0.4 arcsec. Capturing another hour of lights on M13.
The weather for this Fourth of July ride on Airline trail was fantastic. Temps in 60s and 70s with all the nice shade along the trail felt really good.
Went running 5K on a hot muggy evening. Not the smartest idea but it felt good.
M13 aka the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules is a cluster of several hundred thousand stars that is part of our galaxy at a distance of about 22,000 light years. The little smudge at the top is a galaxy (NGC6207) that is much farther away at 50 million light years.
It was a proper Summer day for a nice bike ride. Made it back home before it gets really hot.
Watched “Blink twice” last night. It was quite good. Nicely told story; everything gets revealed at the end. There are a lot of little clues all through the movie that can be missed if you blink at the wrong time.
Last night I felt sharp pain on my arm that made me wake up but, couldn’t figure out if it was real or if it was a dream. Noticed a red sting mark on the arm this morning. Upon further investigation, found a dead wasp under the covers. From now on, will have to check bed before sleeping.
Sad to see India lose but, the first test match in the India vs England series was a good one. Hope this continues for the next 4 matches. 🏏
My daughter is doing an internship at my workplace and we have been commuting together. Still remember those days when she used to be in the back seat on the way to Summer camps before I went to work. Now, not only that she is in the front seat but, she is driving while commuting on many days.
Installed the pin hole camera - Solarcan - on my mailbox post on Summer Solstice. Now to wait for 6 months till the Winter Solstice to process the image. Hope no one disturbs it intentionally or otherwise.
It is fireflies season! Captured these trails of fireflies, stars and airplanes on the night of Summer Solstice.
170 ten second exposures stacked using StarStaX.
Finished watching “Dept Q” over the weekend. What a great show! Great dialogue, great ambience and fantastic storytelling. Can’t wait for season 2.
Day 5 on Erie Canal trail
We started out from Herkimer in the rain and it only got worse from there till about 11 am. We stopped in Canajoharie to get some food. It was so hard to start cycling from there. Didn’t want to put on the wet clothes on and start riding. Thankfully it got better after that. The rain stopped, the sun came out for a little bit. It was the longest day of the ride. We rode about 85 miles and it was the fastest. That is because we rode on paved trails/roads most of the time. We spent less than 5 miles on unpaved trails. After a stop at hungry chicken country store e ended the ride in Latham. Overall it was a nice ride that I’d do again.
Day 4 on Erie Canal bike trail
Day 4 on Erie Canal bike trail started in Syracuse and ended in Herkimer, NY. This was the longest day so far with 79 miles cycled today. Getting out of Syracuse on a Sunday morning was quite chill. No traffic at all and we cruised out of town. The whole day was a mix of trail and road riding. We ate lunch at a taco place in Rome. It was simple and good food that kept us going for the rest of the day. Thankfully there were no incidents today and the ride went on quite smoothly. Made it to Herkimer just before 5:30 pm - sooner than we expected. The dinner at a pub in town was nice. Early bedtime today as we have the longest day of this trip planned for tomorrow.
Day 3 on Erie Canal bike trail
Day 3 on Erie Canal bike trail took us from Palmyra to Syracuse. We started off the day by riding by the Mormon temple and Joseph Smith farm site etc in Palmyra - the birthplace of Mormon church. Came across a snapping turtle just as we got on the canal way. After riding about 25 miles or so we were off the trail and on the streets. This mix of trail and road continued for the rest of the day all the way to Syracuse. We had a couple of incidents on the way. A dog ran into my brother’s bike knocking him off. That caused some scrapes on his calf because of the crank wheel but thankfully nothing serious. No damage to the bike either. He could ride the rest of the way. Then he hit a bump in the trail causing his pannier rack to fall apart. Again it was fixable and not serious. As we got on the way I realized that I hit the same bump causing a flat tire. Fixing that took an extra 30 minutes. We made it to Syracuse safely after all these problems. Had Ethiopian food for dinner at a food market in downtown after a long time. It was very satisfying. Two more days of riding left before we make it to Albany. Only 160 more miles in the next 2 days.
