http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/ en Emmanuele Sordini Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:27:00 GMT Pebble (http://pebble.sourceforge.net) http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2010/04/19/1271690820000.html <div align="justify">I haven't posted anything on this blog for a long time. For once, I come back with something that&nbsp; is not related to my main hobby, astronomy. As was the case for many other people, my vacation plans got screwed up by the Eyjafjallaj&ouml;kull icelandic volcano spewing a cloud of ash that caused thousands of flights in most Europe to be grounded. <br /> <br /> The entity responsible for issuing periodic updates and forecast on the evolution of the ash cloud is the <strong><a target="_blank" href="http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation/vaac/index.html">Volcanic Ash Advisory Center</a></strong> of the <strong><a target="_blank" href="http://www.metoffice.gov.uk">UK Met Office</a></strong>.&nbsp; I managed to turn my missed vacation into a programming opportunity, by writing a <strong>very simple</strong> java program that turns these bulletins into KML files, which can be visualized using Google Earth's advanced 3-D features: <br /> <br /> <div align="center"><img src="/images/volcano/GoogleEarth640.jpg" alt="" /><br /> </div> <br /> <strong>Click on the link below (&quot;Read more...&quot;) for the full story!</strong> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2010/04/19/1271690820000.html">Read more...</a></p> Miscellaneous Hot News http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2010/04/19/1271690820000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2010/04/19/1271690820000.html Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:27:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/09/24/1253826480000.html <div align="center"><img alt="" src="/images/tse2009_preview/MosaicIntro_640.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <div align="justify">Finalmente, sono riuscito a rendere disponibile online il resoconto dettagliato della mia avventura alla rincorsa dell'eclisse totale di Sole pi&ugrave; lunga del XXI secolo. Una cronaca quasi &quot;minuto per minuto&quot;, ricca di immagini, filmati e molto altro!<br /> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=31"><strong>&gt;&gt;&gt; CLICCARE QUI PER LA VERSIONE ITALIANA &lt;&lt;&lt;&nbsp; </strong></a><br /> </div> <br /> </div> <div align="justify">A detailed report of my last adventure to observe the longest total solar eclipse of XXI century is finally available online. Almost a &quot;real-time&quot; logbook with many pictures, movies and much more!<br /> <br /> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=32"><strong>&gt;&gt;&gt; CLICK HERE FOR ENGLISH VERSION &lt;&lt;&lt;&nbsp; </strong></a></div> </div> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/09/24/1253826480000.html">Read more...</a></p> Website Updates Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/09/24/1253826480000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/09/24/1253826480000.html Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:08:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/07/31/1249065000000.html <div align="center"><img src="/images/tse2009_preview/Totality_tutte_el10_elab_1024_cop.jpg" alt="" /><br /> <em>Digital composite </em><em>of solar eclipse at totality </em><em>(from 28 frames with different exposure times; 600-mm refractor). Pictures by Emmanuele Sordini, processing by Lorenzo Comolli<br /> <br /> </em> <div align="justify"> <div align="justify">Knowing how to anticipate and outsmart the weather and its vagaries. That's what chasing solar eclipses is often all about. The Total Solar Eclipse (TSE) of July 22, 2009, will probably be long remembered more for the views of clouds and thunderstorms than of a dazzling corona eclipses can often treat us with.<br /> </div> <div align="justify"> Nevertheless, I managed to pull off some rather decent shots, of which this post is just a very short preview. So, click on the &quot;Read more&quot; link below for some more pictures, but check back often because I will soon be posting a complete report of my adventure!</div> </div> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/07/31/1249065000000.html">Read more...</a></p> Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/07/31/1249065000000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/07/31/1249065000000.html Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:30:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/04/03/1238745240000.html <div align="center"><img height="426" width="640" alt="Comet C/2007 N3 Lulin" src="/images/lulin/LulinComposite640.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <div align="justify">Nel febbraio del 2009, la cometa C/2007 N3 Lulin e' passata vicino alla Terra, offrendoci un bello spettacolo con un'anticoda mutevole ed appariscente.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=29"><strong> &gt;&gt;&gt; Cliccare qui per il resoconto completo in italiano! &lt;&lt;&lt;</strong></a><br /> <br /> In February 2009, comet C/2007 N3 Lulin zipped past our planet Earth, putting on quite a bit of a show and sporting a bright and ever-changing anti-tail. <a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=30"><strong>&gt;&gt;&gt; Click here for a complete report in English! &lt;&lt;&lt;</strong></a><br /> </div> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/04/03/1238745240000.html">Read more...</a></p> Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/04/03/1238745240000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/04/03/1238745240000.html Fri, 03 Apr 2009 07:54:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/02/16/1234824300000.html <div align="center"> <img src="/images/iya_2009/iya_all.jpg" alt="IYA 2009" /><br /> <br /> <div align="justify">2009 is the International Year of Astronomy.&nbsp; Finally an unmissable, long-awaited opportunity has come: that of sharing the knowledge and passion for the wonders of the Universe with the general public. I am a not a professional astronomer, but as a long-time amateur, I am really excited about it. For this reason, I will strive to give my small - yet passionate - contribution to this big collective effort!<br /> <br /> Il 2009 &egrave; l'Anno Internazionale dell'Astronomia. Finalmente questa imperdibile opportunit&agrave; a lungo attesa: condividere la conoscenza e la passione per le meraviglie dell'Universo con il pubblico. Non sono un astronomo professionista, ma in quanto astrofilo di vecchia data non posso che esserne contento. Per tale ragione, far&ograve; il possibile per dare il mio piccolo - ma appassionato - contributo a questo grande sforzo collettivo!</div> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/02/16/1234824300000.html">Read more...</a></p> Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/02/16/1234824300000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/02/16/1234824300000.html Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:45:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/02/13/1234482840000.html <div align="justify"> <div align="center"><img alt="" src="/images/panoramica_penna/mare.jpg" /></div> <br /> <div align="center"><img alt="" src="/images/panoramica_penna/moon2.jpg" /></div> <br /> On January 4, 2009, it was very cold, but crystal clear and sunny. I could not pass up this opportunity, and decided to go snowwalking with some friends on top of <a target="_blank" href="http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Penna_(Liguria)">Monte Penna</a>, one of Ligurian Apennines' most famous and prominent peaks (el. 1735 m); the conditions were really favorable also for trying to put together a panoramic view of the gorgeous landscape we enjoyed from up there.<br /> <br /> This trip turned out to be one of the most beautiful snow walks I've ever done in my life. <strong>Click on the link below to read the full report!</strong><br /> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/02/13/1234482840000.html">Read more...</a></p> Miscellaneous http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/02/13/1234482840000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/02/13/1234482840000.html Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:54:00 GMT m1 astronomy astro-photography deep-sky <div align="justify">On December 21, 2008, I went on a short observing session, which was hautned by several problems with my setup. However, I did manage to pull off a picture of M1, aka the Crab Nebula, with my Vixen refractor and my Canon EOS 350D digital reflex. This object is just a smudge of light of about 7 x 5 arcminutes across, so it's really small compared with the whole frame, which I had to heavily crop. Here is the result:<br /> <br /> <div align="center"><img alt="" src="/images/m1_081221/1_final2.jpg" /></div> <br /> Some info on the picture: Vixen ED103 SWT refractor, Canon EOS 350D DSLR, 11 x 10-minute individual exposures, 3 dark frames, autoguiding with the MagZero MZ-5m and an 80-mm guide scope. Processing done with DeepSkyStacker and Adobe Photoshop CS3. Zenital sky brightness measured with SQM-L: 20.60.<br /> This shot is plagued by quite a few defects (namely, bad focusing and tracking), but it can make do as my first attempt at shooting M1. More (and hopefully better ones) will come!</div><p><a href="m1 astronomy astro-photography deep-sky">Read more...</a></p> Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/01/22/1232661540000.html#comments m1 astronomy astro-photography deep-sky Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:59:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/01/22/1232608380000.html <div align="center"><img alt="" src="/images/devoxx_2008/merge2.jpg" /><br /> </div> <br /> <div align="justify">Ok, I know: I should have written this post more than a month ago. But I&rsquo;ve been very busy lately and I have to process my backlog of work, including new updates to this website. After all, they say &ldquo;better late than never&rdquo;...<br /> So, here we go: the 2008 edition of the Devoxx conference (formely JavaPolis: by the way, why the heck did Sun have this name changed?) was held (as usual) in Antwerp, Belgium, from December 10th to 12th, after the two-day Devoxx University. <br /> This was my second time at Devoxx, after 2006 when I had managed to take part as a speaker (having held a BoF together with my ol&rsquo; pal Fabrizio Giudici ).<br /> <br /> Click on the link below for the full report.<br /> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/01/22/1232608380000.html">Read more...</a></p> Software Hot News http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/01/22/1232608380000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2009/01/22/1232608380000.html Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:13:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/10/28/1225204680000.html <div align="center"> <div align="left"> </div> <div align="center"><img alt="" src="/images/m31_m45/M31-m45.jpg" /></div> </div> <br /> <div align="justify"> The last weekend of September, I took part in the first edition of the <a href="javascript:void(0);/*1225204988530*/">Caprauna Star Party</a>, which took place in the Ligurian Alps, the initial stretch of the Alpine range which is also the lowest and closest to the seaside. <br /> <br /> The nice venue and the top-notch organization of the star party more than made up for the not so exceptional weather. As for my &ldquo;imaging loot&rdquo;, since I had joined in at the very last moment, I hadn&rsquo;t had enough time to better plan my session, so I improvised and went with two deep-sky classics: M31 (the Andromeda Galaxy) and M45 (the Pleiades Cluster). Click on the link below for more details and high-resolution pictures!<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"></span></div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/10/28/1225204680000.html">Read more...</a></p> Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/10/28/1225204680000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/10/28/1225204680000.html Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:38:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/09/24/1222290240000.html <div align="center"><img height="430" width="640" alt="" src="/images/siberian_eclipse/008_res_640.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <div align="justify">Uno, due, tre... e quattro! Come il numero di eclissi che ho osservato nella mia vita: questa volta &egrave; stato il turno della Siberia. Come vedrete, &egrave; stato tutt'altro che facile, ma alla fine quello che conta &egrave; avercela fatta ed aver inanellato un successo il cui ricordo rimarr&agrave; a lungo. <strong>&gt;&gt;&gt;<a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=27"> Cliccate qui per il resoconto completo in Italiano!</a></strong> <strong>&lt;&lt;&lt;</strong><br /> <br /> One, two, three... and four! Four as the number of eclipses I've observed so far in my life: this one took place in Siberia. As you'll see, it's been no easy task, but at the end of the day what really counts is that it turned out to be a great success, whose memories will last for a long time. <strong>&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=28">Click here for the full report in English!</a></strong> <strong>&lt;&lt;&lt;</strong></div> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/09/24/1222290240000.html">Read more...</a></p> Astronomy Hot News http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/09/24/1222290240000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/09/24/1222290240000.html Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:04:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/28/1211926020000.html <div align="center"><img alt="" src="/images/saturn-080501/saturn-080501.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <div align="justify">On May 1st, 2008, I managed to take this shot of Saturn, most likely the last of this season (which has been haunted by really bad seeing conditions) until the Ringed Planet emerges back from sunlight next winter. All data are on the picture itself.<br /> <br /> Il 1&deg; maggio 2008 sono riuscito a realizzare questa immagine di Saturno, molto probabilmente l'ultima di questa stagione (che &egrave; stata contraddistinta da condizioni di seeing veramente scarso) fino al prossimo inverno, quando il &quot;pianeta dagli anelli&quot; riemerger&agrave; dal bagliore della luce solare. Tutti i dati di ripresa sono contenuti nell'immagine stessa.</div> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/28/1211926020000.html">Read more...</a></p> Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/28/1211926020000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/28/1211926020000.html Tue, 27 May 2008 22:07:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/25/1211747700000.html <br /> <div align="center"><img alt="" src="/images/gladius_cf_315/GladiusMosaic.jpg" /></div> <div align="justify">I've recently had the opportunity to have a very close look at Lazzarotti Optics' Gladius CF 315 telescope, and to actively put it through its paces, and the result was very promising.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=26"><strong>&gt;&gt;Click&nbsp; here for the complete review in English!&lt;&lt;</strong></a><br /> <br /> Ho recentemente avuto l'opportunit&agrave; di utilizzare personalmente il telescopio Gladius CF 315 della Lazzarotti Optics, e di metterlo alla prova sul campo in una sessione osservativa. <strong><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=25">&gt;&gt;Cliccate qui per la completa recensione in italiano!&lt;&lt;</a></strong><br /> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/25/1211747700000.html">Read more...</a></p> Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/25/1211747700000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/25/1211747700000.html Sun, 25 May 2008 20:35:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/09/1210287420000.html On March 18th, 2008, the weather was once again clear, but the Foehn wind was sweeping Northern Italy's flatland, as it has (too) often happened during this past winter. No surprise the seeing was really crappy. In spite of that, I managed to pull off the following image featuring Saturn roaming the heavens with five of its satellites: <br /> <br /> <div align="center"><img alt="" src="/images/saturn_satellites/satellites.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <div align="justify">Please click on the link below for more information!</div> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/09/1210287420000.html">Read more...</a></p> Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/09/1210287420000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/05/09/1210287420000.html Thu, 08 May 2008 22:57:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/04/24/1208990640000.html <div align="center"><img alt="" src="/images/iayc_2008/IAYC_BIG_resized.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <div align="justify">From July 20th to August 9th, 2008, the 44th IAYC (International Astronomical Youth Camp) will take place in Sayda, Germany. I myself took part in these camps six times between 1991 and 1999, and in my opinion there is no better place where one can find such an ideal and balanced mix between science, friendship and amusement. The editions I participated in account for some of my nicest memories in my life. So, I am more than glad to put an &quot;advertisement&quot; (or, better, endorsement) on my website. Click on the &quot;read more&quot; link below to find more detailed info (both in English and Italian) directly from the organizing team!<br /> <br /> Dal prossimo 20 luglio al 9 agosto 2008 si svolger&agrave; a Sayda, in Germania, il 44esimo IAYC (International Astronomical Youth Camp). Io stesso ho partecipato a sei di questi campi giovanili internazionali tra il 1991 e il 1999, e secondo me non esiste posto dove trovare un mix migliore tra scienza, divertimento e amicizia. Delle edizioni a cui ho preso parte conservo alcuni tra i pi&ugrave; bei ricordi della mia vita. E allora, pi&ugrave; che volentieri lo pubblicizzo sul mio sito, invitando tutti coloro che fossero interessati a cliccare sul link sottostante &quot;read more&quot; (in inglese e in italiano).<br /> </div> </div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/04/24/1208990640000.html">Read more...</a></p> Miscellaneous Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/04/24/1208990640000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/04/24/1208990640000.html Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:44:00 GMT http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/03/26/1206490740000.html <br /> <div align="center"><img src="/images/mz-5m_vs_vesta-pro/NoisyShowdown.jpg" alt="" /></div> <br /> <div align="justify">Alcuni mesi fa avevo scritto un <a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=19">dettagliato articolo</a> in cui si esaminavano le prestazioni della MagZero MZ-5m, in particolare per quanto riguarda la sua usabilit&agrave; come camera per autoguida. Ora presento il seguito di tale articolo, che mette sotto i riflettori la qualit&agrave; dell'immagine di questa camera, confrontandola con una vecchia gloria delle riprese ad alta risoluzione nel mondo amatoriale: la Philips Vesta Pro (modificata con sensore B/N e firmware per la modalit&agrave; raw). Le sorprese non mancano: <a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=23"><strong>cliccate qui per la versione in Italiano</strong></a>!<br /> </div> <br /> <div align="justify">A few months ago, I wrote a <a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=20">detailed article</a> with an in-depth review of the MagZero MZ-5m camera and its suitability for long exposure autoguiding. Now comes its sequel, where we take a closer look at the MagZero's image quality, in a side-by-side comparison with a veteran of hi-res exposure in the amateur astronomer community: the Philips Vesta Pro camera (with B/W sensor and raw-mode firmware). For sure, the outcome is really surprising: <a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com/bloomingstars/jsp/go.jsp?id=24"><strong>click here for the English version</strong></a>!</div><p><a href="http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/03/26/1206490740000.html">Read more...</a></p> Astronomy http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/03/26/1206490740000.html#comments http://www.bloomingstars.com:80/2008/03/26/1206490740000.html Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:19:00 GMT