Category: Travel

Solar Update

Published on by shahkarimLeave a comment

System was installed August 2018.

Lifetime Energy (kWh) : 27.3 MWh

Production breakdown by year :

2020 : 12.7MWh
2019 : 10.4 MWh
2018 : 2.28 MWh (Partial year – installed August)

Revenue Earned (doesn’t include utility bills savings) : $4439.82
(Mass SREC II Program)

Cost of additional (Grid) power used : $823/year

Estimated savings in Utility bills : $5500/year
(Assumes $500/month for typical use without solar)

Combined cost benefit : $3600 – $4000/year.

CO2 Emissions Saved : 19,515.19 kg

Equivalent Trees Planted: 324.79

Celestial Photography

Published on by shahkarimLeave a comment

Decided to try my hand at some celestial photography, starting with some simple astronomy-grade binoculars rather than going all out with the telescope route.

  • Sturgeon Full Moon
  • First Quarter Moon
  • Saturn

Equipment used :

Binoculars :
Celestron Skymaster 25×70 [LINK]

Tripod Adapter :
Celestron 93524 [LINK]

Smartphone Adapter :
Celestron 81035 [LINK]

Tripod :
Sunpak 620-020 [LINK]

General notes :

25×70 Binoculars means 25x magnification, and 70mm Objective lens.

The 25x magnification works great for the moon and a few smaller objects like the ISS, however isn’t enough to view objects further away, for example Saturn’s rings.

The Exit Pupil on these binoculars is only 70/25 = 2.8mm, which is not a lot of light entering the pupils. This shows in dimmer stars and further objects.