Metablog Update #13 - Our Third Anniversary!
July 25, 2024
Table of Contents Show (Click on lines to navigate)
Another Milestone: Three Years!
I have been overdue for a Metablog Post, so I will do a quick one now in celebration of a Milestone for Cosgrove's Cosmos—the Third Anniversary of when this website first went live!
We first went live on 7-22-21 - And it has been a Labor of love ever since.
When I started, I had no idea how to build a website or what my website would look like! But I enjoyed learning and watching it come together!
Typically, this website's central theme has been my Astro Imaging Projects. But in the past year, not so much.
Between a health issue, poor weather, and unprecedented smoke, my imaging opportunities have been few and far between. Add to that the enormous effort our recent move has taken, and there were even fewer opportunities for imaging!
However, over the past year, I have had a chance to do some interesting "Reprocessing Projects,"—where I take old data and see if my improving skills can find a better image hidden in old data! I have also done a lot of processing and gear posts.
Another great thing for me was the recent move I just mentioned - we found land that would support an observatory. So, for a few months, moving, unpacking, and selling the old house was all we could really focus on!
But as I have come out the other side, I have been excited to get the ball rolling on the observatory build.
In fact, most of my posts and videos in the past few months have been focused on that effort. As you can see here:
The Observatory
It has been great to see the observatory plans come together! You can best get this story from the blog entries above, but let me share a quick progress report here.
I have selected the builder I will work with, and we are now looking at a start time of sometime in August. Some of this is weather-related and, therefore, a bit uncertain.
The builder had proposed using a pole-barn method of construction to reduce costs, and I have decided to go with that. The old plan used a LOT of concrete, and concrete costs have risen dramatically over the past few years. This requires the creation of a new set of stamped plans, which are currently being created. You can see a portion of these new plans below.
I have selected the track hardware that will allow the roof to move, ordered it, and now have it in hand.
The motor and control system has been ordered and shipped.
A custom design for four piers has been finalized, and the parts have been cut and are now being welded up.
Tree work was supposed to be done this week but has been delayed until next week due to weather. This will expand my skyview and remove some trees that could fall on the observatory at some point in the future.
I am currently working on the wiring plan for the observatory.
Stay tuned for more process reports!
The new Pole-Barn Method plans are now taking shape.
My Imaging Today
While the observatory will be a real boon to my imaging, I am currently going through a bit of a rough transition.
All of my imaging to date has been done my setting up in my driveway. Unfortunately, the new driveway is unsuitibe for imaging (trees, neighbors ’ lights).
The best place for imaging is up the hill in my backyard where the observatory will go.
Drone view of the hill top where the observatory will go.
I found out the hard way that my Telescope Lifter/Mover could not transport the big scopes up the hill in the backyard! I tried tipping it back into two-wheeler mode, but the balance was very precarious, and the weight of the rig was very hard to manage. This was a disaster waiting to happen!
I can take my Askar FRA400 rig up the hill as it is small and light.
I can set up a table and chair and then run 150’ of extension cable to power everything. So, I have been collecting data with this method - but it is a hassle. I can’t wait for the Observatory to be built!
Setting the scope on blocks located within footprint of the future observatory. Table and chair is for the laptop.
Another view towards the house. Note the 150’ of extension cord that is running all of the way back to the house so I can power things!
Close up of the small rig.
Twilight has fallen and it time to fire up the software!
Website Status
At the 3-Year Point, Let’s take stock of where the website is.
Currently, we are getting an average of 450 visitors a day, but we often see days with 600 to 800 visitors. This is up from the 200 visitors we were getting six months ago.
In the first year, we averaged about 50 visitors a day
In the second year, we averaged about 150 visitors a day
We are currently at 450.
Knowing that this is a niche area of interest, I never expected more significant numbers, so there was no disappointment there. But it has been gratifying to see that each year, we seem to have a growing audience.
About half of the visitors follow direct links, and the other half are from search engine traffic.
We regularly get visitors from just about every country in the world - which just fascinates me!
So far, we have:
131 Imaging Projects
31 General Tutorial videos
41 “2-Minute” Pixinsight tutorials
24 Gear Posts
24 Tips and Techniques posts
9 Observatory Project Posts
4 Presentations and Talks Posts
12 Metablog Posts ( with this one - 13!)
Many schools and clubs are using my Astro Resource page!
Since the Website went Live, we have had about 200,000 page views and over 112,000 unique visitors!
Another aspect that I appreciate is the number of messages, comments, and question I get through the website. It is great to be able to interact with fellow enthusiasts from all over the world! (although I do not tend to respond to UFO enthusiasts!)
Social Media Presence Snapshot
For a while now, I have had a Social Media presence for Cosgrove’s Cosmos.
Facebook: I first started posting my work on Facebook and still use facebook a lot to promote awareness of new posts. At this point, I have over 11,000 followers! I can proudly say that my posts are now creating enough traffic that Facebook now PAYS ME! Can you believe it! Yes, I am now making serious coin. Last quarter, I made 18 cents. Whoo-hoo. Who needs a retirement fund with that kind of payoff?
X: X used to be a wonderful platform for sharing astrophotography. But no more. The sharing engine has changed dramatically, and posts no longer seem to get the visibility they used to have. But I have stuck with it, and as of today, I have 2,564 followers.
YouTube: I am still learning how to use video media, but I certainly lack screen presence and polish. However, I persevere. Here are some of my YouTube statistics:
Followers: 1,672
Views: 75,000
Hours viewed: 4,300
Instagram: I mainly use this to share imaging projects, and since I have had a few of them, I have not been very active with Instagram for the past year.
Wrap-Up
That’s all for now! I expect that the next Metablog post will celebrate the new observatory and share new images collected there.
Until then, I hope you have clear skies and wonderful summer nights!
Pat
