Total Lunar Eclipse of February 21st, 2008
An astronomy classic that never goes out of date!
On February 21, 2008, the Americas and the westernmost part of Africa and Europe were treated with a total lunar eclipse. The lucky ones who managed to glimpse it had better keep the memory, as next one will take place almost three years from now, on December 21, 2010. >>> Click here for the full report in English <<<.
Il 21 febbraio 2008 le Americhe e la parte più occidentale di Africa ed Europa sono state interessate da un'eclisse totale di Luna. I fortunati che sono riusciti a vederla ne conservino bene il ricordo, dato che la prossima si verificherà soltanto fra quasi tre anni, il 21 dicembre 2010. >>> Cliccate qui per il resoconto completo in italiano <<<.
Il 21 febbraio 2008 le Americhe e la parte più occidentale di Africa ed Europa sono state interessate da un'eclisse totale di Luna. I fortunati che sono riusciti a vederla ne conservino bene il ricordo, dato che la prossima si verificherà soltanto fra quasi tre anni, il 21 dicembre 2010. >>> Cliccate qui per il resoconto completo in italiano <<<.
Moon setting over Mottarone
On Jan.24, 2008, another crystal-clear day had just started, when I spotted a waxing, almost-full Moon setting over the snow-covered slopes of the Mottarone, a well-known mountain (and ski resort) overhanging Stresa, renowned touristic resort on the western banks of Lago Maggiore.
In no time, I was out on my balcony shooting a sequence of exposures which I later put together into this animated GIF "movie":
2008's First Full Moon
On Jan. 22/2008, it was a crystal-clear night on the Po river flatland (Northern Italy), as the dry foehn wind was blowing steadily from the Alps' leeward slopes, thus draining every single bit of humidity from the air. A full Moon disk was also shining bright high up in the sky. By no means, would I ever miss this terrific opportunity of shooting it... 
Magzero MZ-5m Camera Review
An autoguiding camera on a budget
I gloriosi giorni della Sbig ST4 sono da tempo passati. Sono ora a caccia di una camera per autoguida. Ho avuto occasione di provare la ben nota (in Italia) Magzero MZ-5m, che sembra un clone della QHY5 Guider Cam. Comunque sia, la esaminiamo più da vicino per vedere se mantiene le promesse. Cliccare qui per la recensione in italiano!
The good ol' days of the Sbig ST4 are long gone. I've been hunting for a new autoguiding camera: I've come across the Magzero MZ-5m camera, which is quite popular in Italy and looks very much like a QHY5 Guider Cam clone. Anyway, we take a closer look at it to see if it can live up to its specs. Update 28/11/07: a review in english is available here.
Two new images...
... or the meager loot from an unlucky night!
It's been quite a while since my last post, let alone an astronomy-related one. However, this does not mean I don't have anything to share! As a matter of fact, I do have a fair backlog of images to process and to post, but it'll take a while as I've been very busy lately. Here's a sample of my october 2007 deep-sky imaging session:
which is actually the best image... Click on the link below for the full story!
which is actually the best image... Click on the link below for the full story!
Vodafone Internet Box e Windows Vista
I apologize but this post is in Italian, as its content is meant to solve an issue with mobile communications in the Italian market. However, I may consider to translate it in English if I get enough feedback from users.
Vi è mai venuto in mente di utilizzare con Windows Vista la prima versione della Vodafone Internet Box (lo “scatolotto bianco” con velocità massima teorica a 1.8 Mbit massimi, tanto per intenderci), trovando porte sbarrate e nessuna assistenza da parte della Vodafone? Niente paura, non scoraggiatevi: questo tutorial spiega in dettaglio come fare, senza dover sborsare un solo centesimo.
Cliccare sotto la foto per saperne di più! (Attenzione: si tratta di una pagina con molte figure e pertanto abbastanza lunga da caricare)
JUG Genova Meeting, 18/09/2007
Last September 18th, 2007, another JUG Genova meeting was held at DIST (Dipartimento di Informatica, Sistemistica e Telematica) of the University of Genova. It featured a very interesting presentation by Carlo Bonamico and Corrado Alesso on the Spring framework.
Next meeting is scheduled on November 20th. Stay tuned!
Click on the link below to read the full story!
Next meeting is scheduled on November 20th. Stay tuned!
Click on the link below to read the full story!
Nine objects of desire?
"Nine objects of desire" is a title of an album by one of my favorite singers, Suzanne Vega.
However, in this case the term "round-up" would probably be more appropriate. No matter what you call it, to me it's a nice set of deep-sky objects:
Click on the link below to read the full story!
However, in this case the term "round-up" would probably be more appropriate. No matter what you call it, to me it's a nice set of deep-sky objects:
Click on the link below to read the full story!
My first crack at CCD image processing
In early August I tried my hand at my newly acquired CCD camera, and above all at manipulating the resulting image. This small report describes all my different attempts to yield the best rendition of M20 (Trifid nebula)'s wispy outer regions.
Here's what I consider my best result yet:
Click on the link below to read the full story. Please note that this page may take a while to load because of the images it contains.
Here's what I consider my best result yet:
Click on the link below to read the full story. Please note that this page may take a while to load because of the images it contains.
Updated Astronomical Equipment List
My latest rig
For those among you who might be interested, you can find my complete equipment list as of August 2007. This also includes a "history" of my rig over the years, which I expanded over time through selected acquisitions and transfers (mainly by selling on the used market).
Due Articoli di Astronomia
E' passato un bel po' di tempo dall'ultima pubblicazione su questo sito di qualcosa legato all'astronomia; inoltre, non aggiorno la galleria di immagini da oltre un anno, e adesso mi trovo con un notevole arretrato di immagini. Vorrei inoltre risistemare il motore di gestione della galleria, dato che la gestione via FTP con JAlbum (che per altro è un ottimo prodotto) è diventata ormai insostenibile. Ma bando alle ciance, e andiamo al sodo:
- Resoconto sull'eclisse totale di Luna del 3 marzo 2007: cliccate qui
- Resoconto sull'occultazione lunare di Saturno del 22 maggio 2007: cliccate qui
Two Astronomy Articles
It's been quite a while since I last posted something astronomy related; plus, I haven't been updating my image gallery for a year, and now I have a huge backlog of pictures. I would like to rengineer my gallery engine, since FTP-based management with JAlbum (which is a very cool product, by the way) has become a real pain in the butt. But 'nuff said, let's go back to the real stuff:
- Report on the total lunar eclipse of March 3rd, 2007: click here
- Report on Saturn's occultation of May 22nd, 2007: click here
YAJGM: Yet Another JUG Genova Meeting!
Another JUG Genova meeting was held at the local NIS office on Monday, July 23rd. Although the turnout was not as large as what we had back in May's meeting, it was still a success. Two presentations were held:
We also came up with a few cool projects which we'll try to implement and turn into real deeds and events. For the moment we'd better not give any further details since they all are just concepts. You'd better stay tuned by checking JUG Genova's brand new website back often.
Needless to say, we ended up wolfin' down some very yummy pizzas :-)
- Fabrizio Giudici and I reported on our Jazoon '07 experience: see the full (flash-converted) slide presentation (sorry, but it's written in Italian)
- Fabio Bonfante held a very interesting presentation on Aspect-Oriented Programming. Definitely a must-see!
We also came up with a few cool projects which we'll try to implement and turn into real deeds and events. For the moment we'd better not give any further details since they all are just concepts. You'd better stay tuned by checking JUG Genova's brand new website back often.
Needless to say, we ended up wolfin' down some very yummy pizzas :-)
Jazoon '07: wrap-up
Just back home from Jazoon, and also back to work and to everyday's hassles 
. Also, the time has come to make a comprehensive judgement about the conference.
All in all, I must say I came back with a good impression of the conference, which was quite well arranged and brought along a whole bunch of interesting topics and issues.
Wanna know why? Click on the link below for the full story!
. Also, the time has come to make a comprehensive judgement about the conference.A shot from the closing session
All in all, I must say I came back with a good impression of the conference, which was quite well arranged and brought along a whole bunch of interesting topics and issues.
Wanna know why? Click on the link below for the full story!
Jazoon '07: the first two days
On Monday June 25th, a thick layer of clouds rolled in which soon brought along some downpours and a really gloomy atmoshpere. But well, the time had come to dive into the newly started Jazoon conference, so let’s have a closer look at the conference. Jazoon’s venue, the brand-new Sihlcity shopping mall, just off the city center to the southwest, is a top-quality place with boatloads of entertainment facilities, including a big move theather where the conference itself was hosted.
There we go! Come Monday, we got to the conference center in the late morning, just in time to have a peek at Ted Neward’s keynote on the future of programming languages (picture courtesy Moritz Petersen):
Click on the link below for the full story!
There we go! Come Monday, we got to the conference center in the late morning, just in time to have a peek at Ted Neward’s keynote on the future of programming languages (picture courtesy Moritz Petersen):
Click on the link below for the full story!