Cosgrove’s Cosmos Update #4
September 7, 2021
Time for another Cosgrove's Cosmos update!
Hi Folks,
It’s been a while so I thought it was time for another update! Here is what has been going on as of late:
1. Imaging Projects. We had a very promising start to August, and I was able to get 3 clear nights to capture data for three imaging projects - but after August 4th, our weather has been miserable here - hot, humid, and stormy. No fresh imaging opportunities at all. This is very disappointing. In the last two years, I had a lot of clear imaging nights in August but this summer has been a tough one.
As we rolled in the month of September, I am getting a few breaks. The weather has suddenly turned cool, the humidity has dropped and there have been a few good nights. I started three brand new projects the night of September 1 - with each of three telescope platforms collecting data. I was able to get in a second night of imaging last night. I am hopeful that I will have two more nights of imaging before we close out this moonless cycle.
So stay tuned, I have three projects that I think will be very interesting. Two of them are targets that are not very common, and the third is well known but not typically shot in narrowband - so that should be interesting. With some luck, I will be posting new images starting next week!
My three scope platforms - ready for a night of catching photons! The fans on the desktops are to blow away skitters! The car mats are laid over the draped cables so I don’t trip on them in the dark!
2. Site Visits. We now have had visits from 46 countries and about as many states here in the US. The visits to the site ebb and flow based on when there is new content posted. I’m still learning the ins and outs of Website management but I think we are doing OK for a brand new site.
3. Comments. I had identified a 3rd party service provider that would allow me to bolt on a pretty polished commenting system for each page of the site. The downside is that this would have had some additional costs associated with it so I decided to stick with the current commenting system for the time being. It does work, but then again it’s not really getting a lot of use right now so I will see how things develop.
Having said all of that, if you have a question or reaction to a post, I encourage you to use the comments block at the bottom of the page. Questions and answers and comments enrich each page so I would love it if folks took more advantage of the capability.
4. Resource Page. Under the “More Info” menu item you will see a new page called Resources. This page is a collated list of useful links to various online resources that I have found useful at one point or another. See if there is something there you would like to check out. Also - if you think I have missed a good one, leave me a note and I will add it to the list!
5. Recent Additions. This is another new page that lists all of the most recent changes to the website - a kind of “What’s New” Section. This lets you see all of the major changes to the website and provides a link so you can get to them easily. It can be found under the “Home” menu - check it out HERE.
6. A New Video! I added a new post under the “Tips & Techniques” Menu that shows another way that you can share your astrophotography. I created a 4 minute movie that shows my best images of the past year. I barely know how to do anything with video, but this is pretty simple to do. The Posting can be seen HERE, with some links to simple instructions on how to create something like this. I will put the youtube video below so you can easily check it out.
What do you think of this way of sharing astrophotos?
7. Twitter. I have been exploring different ways to promote the website. When I have new content, there are several ways I use right now to let people know about the update:
I send out an email last for the email subscribers to this site
I post on Cosgrove’s Cosmos Facebook page
I post on LinkedIn
I post to various group email lists
Up until now, I have had no real experience with Twitter - but it did seem like a natural place to share website updates. Also - given its format - it would be a nice place to share smaller updates and share tidbits of the day. So I set about learning to Tweet. The account has been created, I have learned how to tweet, and the first dozen or so updates have gone out this way. Of course, I barely know what I am doing here - and so far the results have not been anything to write home about. Zero followers, Zero likes, Zero Comments - but I did get a re-tweet ( Wahoo!). I will stick with it for a while and see if I can get the hang of it. In the meantime, please feel free to follow me at:
https://twitter.com/CosgrovesCosmos
You could be my very first follower! WOW - such bragging rights! Heck - you might be my only follower! :-)
Thanks again for your interest and support! If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me!
May your skies be clear,
Pat
