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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 12h

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.

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 18h

🤣Good post! I agree.

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 1d

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.

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 1d

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

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 3d

New jet replaces windows with screens <-- when I first saw this headline, I was thinking "screen doors". www.popsci.com/technology/p...

Luxury jet replaces cabin windows with video screens

HD cameras beam panoramic images inside.

www.popsci.com

Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 4d

Did Billiard Balls lead to our present craziness in using plastic for everything? #savetheelephants - www.popsci.com/environment/...

How billiard balls led to plastic everywhere

The drive to save elephants had some unforeseen conservation consequences.

www.popsci.com

Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 6d

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

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 6d

Love your title slides, Chris. Quite creative.

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 6d

Seattle scientist shares #Nobel Prize for medicine. She didn't answer her phone because it was a Swedish number and she thought it was spam, but called back after listening to the voicemail. @kuow.org - www.kuow.org/stories/the-...

Seattle scientist among medicine Nobel Prize winners for work on peripheral immune tolerance

Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.

www.kuow.org

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 10d

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

Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 10d

This is amazing for the Seestar, especially given how low in the sky it is. Good job Misty.

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 10d

Love the faint color in this one, Jim.

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 11d

Is there actual paid customer demand for suborbital space flights offered by Jeff Bezos Blue Origin? The company is thinking about scaling up to weekly flights of its New Shepherd rocket. @b0yle.bsky.social on @geekwire.com - www.geekwire.com/2025/blue-or...

Blue Origin reportedly plans to expand New Shepard suborbital space fleet and launch facilities

Blue Origin plans to scale up its New Shepard suborbital space program for weekly launches — and is thinking about a second launch site.

www.geekwire.com

Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 12d

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

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 13d

A vaccine developer and a climate scientist walk into a bar - ok,ok, they really wrote a book. Who is really behind the "war on science"? arstechnica.com/science/2025...

The current war on science, and who’s behind it

A vaccine developer and a climate scientist walk into a bar write a book.

arstechnica.com

Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 16d

1927 Paramount Studio Map Of California Filming Locations That Look Like Foreign Countries & Regions
brilliantmaps.com/california-f...

1927 Paramount Studio Map Of California Filming Locations That Look Like Foreign Countries & Regions - Brilliant Maps

Map found via reddit

brilliantmaps.com

Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 16d

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.

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 16d

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.

Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 16d

Is Saturday 27 September the coolest mathematical date of our lifetime? It's a "global square date". Well, ok ... www.popsci.com/science/sept...

Why September 27, 2025 is the 'coolest mathematical date of our lifetime'

Get ready for a whacky series of numerical coincidences.

www.popsci.com

Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 16d

Absolutely. I was going to spend so much time and money learning astrophotography "the old way" and then the Origin came along. 😊

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 16d

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

Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 16d

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

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 16d

Demonstrating again the power of advertisers.

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Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 16d

Jeff Bezos is frustrated with the slow progress of his rocket company #BlueOrigin compared to Elon Musk and #SpaceX (as are the rest of us). He's got New Glenn and is apparently planning a "New Armstrong" to rival #Starship. @b0yle.bsky.social writes in @geekwire.com www.geekwire.com/2025/space-r...

The space race is tightening up for Blue Origin and SpaceX, and for America and China

A newly published book focuses on parallel space races involving Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, and America and China.

www.geekwire.com

Bill Schrier Seattle @billschrier.bsky.social · 17d

FRAPs - frenetic random activity periods - aka “zoomies.” Why is your dog so happy to see you and how does she(he) recognize you? It might be the jingling of your keys or your smell (ah "scent") or it might be your Oxytocin. www.popsci.com/science/why-...

Why your dog gets so excited to see you

Memory, scent, and strong bonds fuel the joyous reunions between dogs and their pet parents.

www.popsci.com