Rewatched some Star Trek tonight. Still wild how a show about warp drives and weird nebulae ends up teaching the cleanest lessons about being human. Every episode says the same thing in its own way: ‘Be curious. Be brave. …Try not to fire phasers unless you really have to.”

Spent 5 hours imaging the Lobster Claw, and struggling to find an edit I like. Then on a lark I spent 10 minutes on the Orion Nebula (60 10 sec subs, stacked in PixInsight, processed with PI and Affinity). So what do I spend my time on? This:

Thank you for your service!

5 Hours on the Pleiades

Nice job, Blue Origin!

Just something I threw together tonight

microsoft wants to use your linkedin data to train LLMs turn it off here: www.linkedin.com/mypreference...

Remember when Texas Dems broke quorum & in response TX AG Paxton & Gov Abbot demanded their arrest & removal from office? Under Speaker Johnson, Congress has been in session only 12 of last 100 days, absent since Sept 19, & he still won't swear in Rep-elect Grijalva. Rules for thee but not for me.

Emerald Lucille Lovebird 🕊️ tests her EMU before her EVA 👩‍🚀. She wishes all peace. 🕊️ #TheDailyLovebird

Last night's moon:

My take in Comet Lemmon. 10 30s images, Askar 60F, ASI533MC Pro from Tucson, AZ

Trials and tribulation of astrophotography. H'ere a video of yesterday's Comet Lemmon attempt, fighting the trees to my west:

A 🧵: Was looking at the activities list for this week in space over at @spacepolicyonline.bsky.social ( suggest you do too on a weekly basis ) Ther's one event that sadly is invitation only but I see it as a canary in a coal mine. The French Institute of International Relations is ...1/

While everyone else is posting about comet Lemmon, here is a short video of my Swan images:

This is now more than double the NASA budget, which the White House wants to slash.

Working a bit on the Eagle nebula while waiting for clear skies in Tucson.

Final prep is underway for the Space Software Summit next week. If you are using or interested in GMAT or Astrodynamics Workbench, come chat with me or listen to my talk in Boulder! www.spacesoftwaresummit.com

Water is falling from the sky. How weird!

Getting ready to travel to a place I've never been before. Boston. For the Astrodynamics Specialists Conference next week, where I'll talk about these 4:

The idea that President can negotiate/dictate bilateral “deals” by using the full force of the federal government to punish and humiliate his perceived enemies goes against the whole idea of the rule of law. That should be the story, rather than normalizing this authoritarian behavior.

Found a minute or two to gather a bit of light Friday night. Still learning how best to process things.

If you attended church and consider yourself a Christian and your preacher or pastor isn't speaking out passionately against what's happening in this country you're not in a church you're in a cult..shame on all of you for staying silent

Gee thanks, Mr Ciscomani, for responding to my message asking you to reconsider your vote. Apparently you didn't even read it. You may be proud of your vote. You've lost any hope of getting mine. And it's Dr. Conway. As asked on your "contact us" page and unused in your response.

*sigh*

It is important to understand: the president’s budget request IS ALREADY being enacted at the agency level—call your reps and senators if you like seeing cool pictures from space telescopes and planetary probes (I’m dead serious).

Just gonna repost this without comment except the comment I'm making here

This passage on programming very handily translates to LLMs. Misleading people into a hollow illusion of mastery—when in fact nothing substantial is achieved. (Joseph Weizenbaum, Computer Power and Human Reason, p. 277)

PSI's Amanda Hendrix wrote a really great op-ed for the local Tucson newspaper about what's at stake in the fight against the president's budget request for NASA: tucson.com/opinion/colu...

Collected a few photons last night from the front porch

Second astrophoto:

I was about to post this, quoted this during a phone conversation last night...thanks , James!

I fucked up the link. HERE IT IS: www.planetary.org/advocacy-act...

1A - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

So the adventure begins. Here's an unprocessed, slightly cropped frame from my very first Astrophotography imaging attempt. M3, using a ZWO ASI533MC through a Celestron NexStar6 on an HEQ mount, with a focal reducer.

Current US space program policy status....

New from me Devastating cuts and no Administrator in sight have left NASA in a perilous position, as missions and spacecraft face cancellation. Story by me in New Scientist www.newscientist.com/article/2482...

In addition to gutting Medicaid and SNAP, the House Reconciliation bill takes aim at the clean energy boom 🔋🌱 Slashing clean energy tax credits = slashing jobs in your own district 💼⚡️ Let’s see how that plays out 👀

💯

A nice blue sky and flowers in bloom on this morning's walk.