Wesley's Tool-Box

While visiting Ulsan, there was a bright flare at -6.4 magnitude of the Iridium 40 satellite in the southern sky last evening. It was so bright that my iPhone 5S had no problem recording it in its burst mode (10fps at 8 megapixels). It was quite a sight to see. Here are two ways of seeing it in action:

1. Youtube Video


2. Animated GIF (click the thumbnail)


Device: iPhone 5S
Settings: 30mm - ISO 2500 - 1/15s - f/2.2
Time: 2013-12-27 18:38 KST
Location: Ulsan, Korea

Makibox, the start-up project that aimed to deliver usable but low cost ($300 for a heated bed version) 3D printer, appeared in February 2012. Hoping to get one by the end of the year, I ordered one on September 1, 2012. Unfortunately, the project saw significant delays.

It finally did arrive at the end of the year, on December 24. It's just that it arrived one full year later than expected, in 2013. Nevertheless, it was a nice Christmas gift. This unit may be the first Makibox to arrive in Korea.

I'll be assembling this over the weekend, after Christmas holidays are over. Stay tuned.

As Venus comes closer, the crescent shape keeps growing bigger, and effectively negates the thinning. I guess that's why the planet still shines bright in the evening sky.

Settings: Canon SX50 HS - 1200mm (2x enlarged) - ISO 80 - 1/250s - f/6.5
Filters: None
Time: 2013-12-21 18:04 KST
Location: Suwon, Korea
32 photos stacked with RegiStax 6.1.0.8

While browsing on a shopping site, a telescope that costs only about US$45 including shipping caught my eyes. It was named simply as a "high-quality educational telescope", with the model number 90060, indicating 900mm focal length and 60mm diameter. It comes with a 5x finder scope, 20mm / 12.5mm / 4mm eyepieces, a moon filter, and two barlow lenses (1.5x erecting and 3x). Getting curious, I had to order one.

I did not expect much from such a cheap telescope, but having a ridiculously long focal length had some interesting results. One, the overall construction is taller than me. It's a pretty big thing. Another thing is that, even with a modest 20mm eyepiece, the Moon fills the entire view, since you get 45x magnification.

The Jupiter and its Galilean moons were brightly visible with the telescope. I could make out the bands on the planet, but it was actually too bright to clearly distinguish them. 4mm eyepiece was hard to use because the telescope was light and rather shaky. 12.5mm one seem to yield a good balance with the default setup. I should try to add some weight at the base.