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Health and astronomy update

Published on 17 Comments on Health and astronomy update

As preparation for my leukopheresis next month, when T-cells will be extracted from my bloodsteam, my body needs to be cleaned up as much as possible. That means stopping the chemo treatments. Hooray! But yesterday I learned that it also means stopping the Evil Dex™. Doubleplus hooray!

I already feel a little better, and within another two or three weeks I should be feeling pretty good. Then, a few weeks after that, it will be time for the CAR-T treatment and I'll go back to feeling crappy. But then, a few months after that, I'll be fine again!

There's an ironic problem hovering over all this, though. I took up my astronomy hobby because I was looking for something I could do on dex days, when I'd be awake all night anyway. But now it's possible that I'll never take dex again, which makes astrophotography a bit of a problem. Will I be able to stay up all night and still be alert enough to drive home in the morning? Or will I be able to sleep a bit in the car while the telescope does its thing?

Next week I plan to find out on a test trip for three different deep sky objects, including the C/2022 E3 (ZTF) comet, aka the "green comet." I'll report back.

C/2022 E3 is (barely) visible to the naked eye. Go out around 3 or 4 in the morning and look northeast about 30 degrees above the horizon.

17 thoughts on “Health and astronomy update”

  1. Keith B

    Do you think all astronomers are on Dex? You're a retired fellow, if you want a hobby that requires you to be up all night you can certainly do it.

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  2. cld

    The first time I saw a comet in real life I was shocked by how spooky it was.

    I've seen three or four since then and they never stop seeming outrageously creepy. Spectral is the word for it.

    I have never been able to quite define how or why, but I entirely understand how they would frighten ancient populations.

      1. cld

        Exactly, but way more supernatural, like Herman Melville's indifferent universe with Lovecraft and Kubrick swirled into it, and a hint of David Lynch and I just simply could not bear to look at it after a few minutes because it never stopped but only grew more intense the more I looked at it.

    2. mudwall jackson

      for me, it's more awe. the first one i ever saw, i was in high school and my dad woke me up in the middle of the might to show me. i've only seen a few, most notably hale-bop back in the 90s, but the sense of awe remains with me. i live in an area with a lot of light pollution so i doubt i'll be able to spot the latest celestial wonder but i'll probably give it a shot.

    3. Timpie

      I stepped outside my back door on a subzero Wyoming morning and saw Hyakutake straight up over my head. The tail streamed halfway across the sky. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in the sky. It was too cold to spend much time looking and now it seems like a dream.

      1. dilbert dogbert

        Hyakutake was the first one I saw. We were on our honeymoon at the V6 ranch in Parkfield CA. A very dark sky.
        On our next trip to the V6 I saw another comet.

    1. Rattus Norvegicus

      Total eclipse on April 8th of next year. Seeing it requires travel deep into the bowels of South Texas, but it should be a good one.

  6. Justin

    I live in West Michigan where we only get clear skies about 5% of the time from mid November to March. Thanks for the pics.

    I like the dreary dark winter. It matches my outlook!

  7. Jasper_in_Boston

    Will I be able to stay up all night and still be alert enough to drive home in the morning? Or will I be able to sleep a bit in the car while the telescope does its thing?

    Get an RV. I strongly suspect it would be cheaper than your NASA-quality telescope!

    O/T, but Noah Smith did a post on his Substack about Fed action and time lag. He even quotes you, along with a bunch of other people:

    https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1614058844518506498

  8. Rattus Norvegicus

    I'm planning to run out to a good dark spot around here to take a look at that comet. I've got a pair of 10x42s, but no astronomer certified binocs, so don't know whether I'll be able to see it. But it's only20 minutes outside of town, so what the hell.

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