Bill Keel
@ngc3314.bsky.social
Astronomer, husband, father, staff of cats, sometime trombonist
(Have we mentioned that ADS now shows 208 citations for this paper, so it was eventually worth the grief?)
November 24, 2025 at 6:59 PM
(Have we mentioned that ADS now shows 208 citations for this paper, so it was eventually worth the grief?)
To maybe finish that thread off - referee seemed suspicious of something but wouldn't say what, wanted to see (a) raw + reduced FITS files and (b) even more detailed + documented narrative of data treatment + calibration. Ref complained that 11-page document (b), for their eyes only, was too long.
November 24, 2025 at 3:04 PM
To maybe finish that thread off - referee seemed suspicious of something but wouldn't say what, wanted to see (a) raw + reduced FITS files and (b) even more detailed + documented narrative of data treatment + calibration. Ref complained that 11-page document (b), for their eyes only, was too long.
The 1954 meteorite ricocheted off a big console radio before striking Mrs. Hodges. The radio is on display (with the rock) at the Alabama Natural History Museum. We saw a gleam in the director's eye at the thought of an Exhibit but told him to leave poor Annie Hodges where she was.
November 22, 2025 at 6:59 PM
The 1954 meteorite ricocheted off a big console radio before striking Mrs. Hodges. The radio is on display (with the rock) at the Alabama Natural History Museum. We saw a gleam in the director's eye at the thought of an Exhibit but told him to leave poor Annie Hodges where she was.
From my experience writing one of these some years back, there are immigration attorneys who specialize in this kind of contact and do literature searches to find who's in the field and has stature to write such a latter. The attorney contacted me; I can't picture navigating the process solo.
November 21, 2025 at 7:25 PM
From my experience writing one of these some years back, there are immigration attorneys who specialize in this kind of contact and do literature searches to find who's in the field and has stature to write such a latter. The attorney contacted me; I can't picture navigating the process solo.
"I don't care, I'm still free,
You can't take the sky from me."
You can't take the sky from me."
November 21, 2025 at 7:16 PM
"I don't care, I'm still free,
You can't take the sky from me."
You can't take the sky from me."
A measurement or classification (along with information on how those were done). So everything from enormous born-digital surveys of the sky at multiple wavelengths/times to artisanally handcrafted microdata verging on anecdote. (Anecdotes may be data, albeit with poorly known provenance+scope)
November 21, 2025 at 6:56 PM
A measurement or classification (along with information on how those were done). So everything from enormous born-digital surveys of the sky at multiple wavelengths/times to artisanally handcrafted microdata verging on anecdote. (Anecdotes may be data, albeit with poorly known provenance+scope)
Since the original Voorwerpjes sample, @galaxyzoo.org volunteers have identified more than 40 additional galaxies with confirmed AGN-ionized clouds >10 kpc from the AGN themselves, sometimes in companion galaxies. (Not even counting candidates from JWST or first-look Rubin data). They're everywhere!
November 18, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Since the original Voorwerpjes sample, @galaxyzoo.org volunteers have identified more than 40 additional galaxies with confirmed AGN-ionized clouds >10 kpc from the AGN themselves, sometimes in companion galaxies. (Not even counting candidates from JWST or first-look Rubin data). They're everywhere!
I'm pretty sure that whatever Chris is about to tell, it was worse.
November 18, 2025 at 7:12 PM
I'm pretty sure that whatever Chris is about to tell, it was worse.
I know, right? I can't let it go. (BTW, the later "Voorwerpjes" usage was completely my fault and deliberate). Couldn't help myself having a look with 15-cm Celestron Origin a couple of nights ago from a dark site - and there it is, hanging right below IC 2497.
November 18, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I know, right? I can't let it go. (BTW, the later "Voorwerpjes" usage was completely my fault and deliberate). Couldn't help myself having a look with 15-cm Celestron Origin a couple of nights ago from a dark site - and there it is, hanging right below IC 2497.
I seem to recall an impression of John Faulkner doing an impression of Professor Kingsfield.
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 AM
I seem to recall an impression of John Faulkner doing an impression of Professor Kingsfield.
Opposite. Grouching on ZTwitter back in the day got me a refund from Delta for twice putting me in a blank-fuselage-wall seat after paying the window surcharge. I'd make a note of this if United had any significant presence at the local airport.
November 12, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Opposite. Grouching on ZTwitter back in the day got me a refund from Delta for twice putting me in a blank-fuselage-wall seat after paying the window surcharge. I'd make a note of this if United had any significant presence at the local airport.
Aurora from Tuscaloosa, Alabama! (Shot with my Moto phone propped atop car; I ran a bunch of DSLR sequences and its battery is recharging before I can download). That's a lifetime total of two by now! Red color was visible to the eye.
November 12, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Aurora from Tuscaloosa, Alabama! (Shot with my Moto phone propped atop car; I ran a bunch of DSLR sequences and its battery is recharging before I can download). That's a lifetime total of two by now! Red color was visible to the eye.
Could you elaborate? I don't see what's unusual.
November 11, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Could you elaborate? I don't see what's unusual.
Sure, but it would be spectacular on a 16-bit binary odometer.
November 10, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Sure, but it would be spectacular on a 16-bit binary odometer.
Is it keyed to your email address or something? I mean, you could answer with someone else's name. Maybe even a real one.
- Signed, someone with 35 years' experience in the environment
- Signed, someone with 35 years' experience in the environment
November 5, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Is it keyed to your email address or something? I mean, you could answer with someone else's name. Maybe even a real one.
- Signed, someone with 35 years' experience in the environment
- Signed, someone with 35 years' experience in the environment
Pat Henry is handing the running of DragonCon over to his daughters (of whom I interact with Rachel Reeves annually). Heartening but unexpected, this is a big enough deal for the city to be covered in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Bonus, a bit of origin story. www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news...
How a comic book owner created Dragon Con - Atlanta Business Chronicle
Nearly 40 years ago, comic book store owner Pat Henry was brainstorming with “a bunch of geeks," he said. The group later organized what would become the inaugural Dragon Con, attracting 75,000 fans t...
www.bizjournals.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Pat Henry is handing the running of DragonCon over to his daughters (of whom I interact with Rachel Reeves annually). Heartening but unexpected, this is a big enough deal for the city to be covered in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Bonus, a bit of origin story. www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news...
Hmm. Manufacturer of doorbell cameras has new default mode where an AI goes through all the streams in a neighborhood to find lost pets. What could go wrong, whether it can be hacked or not?
November 2, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Hmm. Manufacturer of doorbell cameras has new default mode where an AI goes through all the streams in a neighborhood to find lost pets. What could go wrong, whether it can be hacked or not?
Manuscript referee report is just back from journal. It obviously got a very close reading. The reviewer insists that minus signs in coordinate designations (of which hundreds occur in the tables) should use LaTeX $-$, not just -.
November 2, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Manuscript referee report is just back from journal. It obviously got a very close reading. The reviewer insists that minus signs in coordinate designations (of which hundreds occur in the tables) should use LaTeX $-$, not just -.
Oh. Halloween-themed arxiv submissions are now a Thing. Or in some cases a Thing from Another World?
October 31, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Oh. Halloween-themed arxiv submissions are now a Thing. Or in some cases a Thing from Another World?
That's long gone in the rear-view mirror...
October 30, 2025 at 1:22 AM
That's long gone in the rear-view mirror...
Reposted by Bill Keel
🌟 The November 2025 edition of The Evening Sky Map is ready for download at skymaps.com/tesm/. The PDF features a Sky Calendar and easy-to-use sky maps for the northern and southern hemispheres, as well as equatorial regions. Please share, and enjoy exploring the Universe! 🔭
#stargazing #space
#stargazing #space
October 29, 2025 at 12:06 PM
🌟 The November 2025 edition of The Evening Sky Map is ready for download at skymaps.com/tesm/. The PDF features a Sky Calendar and easy-to-use sky maps for the northern and southern hemispheres, as well as equatorial regions. Please share, and enjoy exploring the Universe! 🔭
#stargazing #space
#stargazing #space
With all that detail, I neglected to actually tag DragonCon @dragoncon.org
October 28, 2025 at 6:07 PM
With all that detail, I neglected to actually tag DragonCon @dragoncon.org
See? Look at all the cool stuff remaining to be done with spectroscopy using ~4m telescopes on the ground if they're made widely available to the community! (Totally a swipe at 25 years' worth of policy decisions)
October 28, 2025 at 1:41 PM
See? Look at all the cool stuff remaining to be done with spectroscopy using ~4m telescopes on the ground if they're made widely available to the community! (Totally a swipe at 25 years' worth of policy decisions)
Montage of images we got from Space Track overnight down in the Hilton in Live Astronomy, remotely operating 1-meter observatory telescopes in AZ, Chile, Canary Islands. Finally finished data processing and color-compositing (we saw only single-filter greyscale at the time). Come join us in 2026!
October 27, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Montage of images we got from Space Track overnight down in the Hilton in Live Astronomy, remotely operating 1-meter observatory telescopes in AZ, Chile, Canary Islands. Finally finished data processing and color-compositing (we saw only single-filter greyscale at the time). Come join us in 2026!
Our college orchestra played Hansen's Romatic Symphony circa 1977. During our extensive rests, the tuba player and I kept thinking what cinematic music it was. We even illustrated space docking scenes using bass trombone and tuba mutes. Imagine my surprise a few years later watching Alien.
October 24, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Our college orchestra played Hansen's Romatic Symphony circa 1977. During our extensive rests, the tuba player and I kept thinking what cinematic music it was. We even illustrated space docking scenes using bass trombone and tuba mutes. Imagine my surprise a few years later watching Alien.