Having made a first pass of my partial solar eclipse images from 12/8/26, I thought I’d take a look at how much detail in the visible sunspots had been captured using the Acuter Solarus 80 ‘scope and a digital phone camera – and I was impressed! I’ve desaturated the colour, slightly boosted the contrast andContinue reading “Sunspots images with the Acuter Solarus 80 ‘scope…”
Author Archives: Lee J. Russell
Partial Solar Eclipse – 12/8/26…
The UK enjoyed a partial solar eclipse on 12/8/26. About 92% of the Sun was covered by the Moon, and it seemed liked 92% of all people had gone out to see it! I chose to view the eclipse from the cliff tops at Minnis Bay, on the Isle of Thanet. This location has anContinue reading “Partial Solar Eclipse – 12/8/26…”
The Use of AI / LLMs in Creative Writing…
OK, I admit it… I got lazy. I wanted to quickly finish some non-fiction work, so I could move on to new, more exciting projects… … I’d already discovered the efficiency of asking ChatGPT research questions, rather than searching in the traditional way and then wading through pages for the information I now wanted. ItContinue reading “The Use of AI / LLMs in Creative Writing…”
The “Fractured Europe” series by Dave Hutchinson…
Between 2014 to 2016, Dave Hutchinson published 3 books in his “Fractured Europe” series of science fiction novels. A fourth book was later published in 2018, and then a fifth in 2022. Europe in Autumn (2014)Europe at Midnight (2015)Europe in Winter (Nov 2016)Europe at Dawn (Nov 2018)Cold Water (2022) I have only read “Europe inContinue reading “The “Fractured Europe” series by Dave Hutchinson…”
The Tensions Between Capitalism and Social Good in the Provision of Internet Services…
I have happy memories of enjoying using the internet with 33.6k and then “fast” 56k dial-up modems in the late 1990s. Pages took a short moment to load, especially if they were image-heavy. But as my interests were largely centred on science news, I was well prepared to wait a moment for the latest updates.Continue reading “The Tensions Between Capitalism and Social Good in the Provision of Internet Services…”
Climate Politics…
Since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was created in 1988, it has issued 6 reports synthesising the scientific results. It is now in its seventh assessment cycle, which started in July 2023. Even without taking part in Climate research, or being a Policy Maker, or part of an advocacy group, the effect ofContinue reading “Climate Politics…”
United States – Keeping the Peace, or Addicted to Killing?
The United States has been at war or in conflict with other peoples for roughly 225 of its 250 years of existence. No other nation has, on the face of it, been more war-like in the same period. The reasons for war (declared or otherwise) are varied, and in some cases one might say areContinue reading “United States – Keeping the Peace, or Addicted to Killing?”
Trump is “… strongly considering pulling out of NATO…” – bye then…
The Telegraph reported on 1st April ’26 that President Donald Trump is “… strongly considering pulling the United States out of Nato (sic) after it failed to join his war on Iran.” – the comment can be found in this article. Bye then. At this point, I doubt that any European nation believes that theContinue reading “Trump is “… strongly considering pulling out of NATO…” – bye then…”
Iain M. Banks’ Culture Series:Utopia, Power, and Moral Complexity…
“The Culture” is a series of nine novels and one short story collection written by Iain M. Banks: Consider Phlebas (1987) The Player of Games (1988) Use of Weapons (1990) The State of the Art (1989) Excession (1996) Inversions (1998) Look to Windward (2000) Matter (2008) Surface Detail (2010) The Hydrogen Sonata (2012) “The Culture”Continue reading “Iain M. Banks’ Culture Series:Utopia, Power, and Moral Complexity…”
Astronomy: Python script to convert coordinates between epochs…
I like using “Burnham’s Celestial Handbook”, but the 1950s epoch coordinates quickly get frustrating, as we’re mostly using J2000 now. To speed up my workflow, I created this Python script to quickly convert from 1950s to J2000 coordinates. You’re welcome to pick it up (see disclaimer directly below) from my area on ‘Pcloud’ (Europe’s secure &Continue reading “Astronomy: Python script to convert coordinates between epochs…”
Lee J. Russell, creative 