Bill Schrier Seattle
@billschrier.bsky.social
180 followers 100 following 210 posts
Former CTO at the City of Seattle posting about Seattle, astronomy, and information technology.
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billschrier.bsky.social
Some carmakers are bringing back buttons, thank goodness. Some touchscreen functions are ok, but gawd I hate touchscreens for everything ... 🤬- www.popsci.com/technology/c...
Goodbye, annoying touchscreens. Welcome back, buttons?
Why some carmakers are bringing back your beloved knobs.
www.popsci.com
billschrier.bsky.social
Well there is a prominent astronomer at Harvard University, Avi Loeb, who thinks objects like 3iAtlas are alien spaceships.
billschrier.bsky.social
Goldendale Sky Village is a place where I and 75 other amateur astronomers share 40 acres. Not close to Vancouver alas. It is plotted on Google maps. Two to three hours away was but a gorgeous drive. November is the rainy season.
billschrier.bsky.social
No. I'm in Seattle with light-polluted skies. Toward the east is downtown Seattle, Bortle 8, which means only the brightest stars are visible. Toward the west is Puget Sound, which is a bit darker. But this telescope has a light pollution filter which really helps image dimmer objects.
billschrier.bsky.social
Nebula NGC7822, Constellation Cepheus taken with my Celestron Origin Telescope from West Seattle, Bortle 7/8 skies 25 Sept 2025. This nebula is almost impossible to see visually, which may be the reason it doesn't have a common name like "torch flame nebula" or something similar. #astrophotography
Nebula NGC7822, Constellation Cepheus
billschrier.bsky.social
Cederblad 214 Nebula part of the NGC7822 cloud in the constellation Cepheus, imaged 5 October 2025 from Bortle 7 skies in West Seattle using my Celestron Origin with nebula filter. About 1 hour exposure, reprocessed a bit on the Origin itself. Arrow lower right indicates north. #astrophotography
Cederblad 214 nebula, Constellation Cepheus
billschrier.bsky.social
Love your title slides, Chris. Quite creative.
billschrier.bsky.social
Will China beat the US back to the moon? Can the US catch up? NASA squandered billions developing an expensive "space launch system" demanded by Congress to put jobs in their states. Now the US is in a hole, falling further behind. #space @sciguyspace.bsky.social
- arstechnica.com/space/2025/1...
How America fell behind China in the lunar space race—and how it can catch back up
Thanks to some recent reporting, we’ve found a potential solution to the Artemis blues.
arstechnica.com
billschrier.bsky.social
This is amazing for the Seestar, especially given how low in the sky it is. Good job Misty.
billschrier.bsky.social
Love the faint color in this one, Jim.
billschrier.bsky.social
Why was this grand observatory razed to the ground? Ulugh Beg, prince and governor of Samarkand in present day Uzbekistan, was probably a better astronomer than governor. He built the world's most advanced observatory in the 1400's. #astronomy @atlasobscura.com - www.atlasobscura.com/places/ulugh...
Ulugh Beg Observatory
Light still pours into the ruins of this ancient Islamic observatory.
www.atlasobscura.com
billschrier.bsky.social
Yes. I have a Seestar S50 too, Dale. The Origin's sensor is larger and the Origin images a lot faster. But the Seestar has the "mosaic" or "framing" mode which is useful if the object is large, and the Origin doesn't.
billschrier.bsky.social
The telescope - from the company "Celestron" - only takes photos. There is no eyepiece you look through. Its electronic mount finds objects in the sky through "matching" the stars seen by the camera with an internal digital star map. Then it stays focused on that one spot while photographing.
billschrier.bsky.social
Absolutely. I was going to spend so much time and money learning astrophotography "the old way" and then the Origin came along. 😊
billschrier.bsky.social
Apparently it is legal for Amazon (and other stores) to sell sprays which have the "odor of feces" aka "fart spray". However it is not legal to use the spray almost daily for weeks at a South Carolina high school. @arstechnica.com - arstechnica.com/culture/2025...
Felony charges after South Carolina high school filled with “fart spray”… for weeks
Let’s dig into the science of stink.
arstechnica.com
billschrier.bsky.social
The Wizard Nebula, NGC 7380, in the Constellation Cepheus, taken earlier this week with my Celestron Origin telescope in the Bortle 7 skies (that's pretty light-polluted) of West Seattle. 7130 second exposure (about two hours). #astrophotography
Image of the Wizard Nebula in the Constellation Cepheus
billschrier.bsky.social
Demonstrating again the power of advertisers.