October 2021 update
October was a month of intense work, mostly spanning two areas: the new upcoming equipment database, and the preparations for the 2022 IOTD/TP team.
Read on to learn more about what's new on AstroBin and what's coming up next (and remember: the list doesn't include bug fixes, infrastructure work, and smaller
features 😛).
🔭 Massive progress on the new equipment database
Work on the new equipment database and module, which is the highlight of 2021, is ongoing, and during October I worked very hard again on this, making giant leaps forward in terms of progress. I don't think I've ever written this much code in such a short period of time ever, and as I look at it, I'm also very happy about the quality!
The code has been finally integrated within the production deployment of AstroBin, which lifted a weight off my shoulders because there were lots of database schema migrations involved. However, it's the new sections on AstroBin are not open to the public yet.
I would like to thank some companies for their contribution: I have received product databases from 🇺🇸 OPT and 🇺🇸 High Point Scientific, and I will try to integrate them, again to alleviate the migration workload. 🇩🇪 Teleskop-Service has also offered to help and they are working on a data export. Please do show your appreciation for these companies: they don't just sell us stuff, but they actively care for the community.
The migration and explorer tool has been extended to support Telescopes too, and the next steps will involve including Mounts, Filters, Accessories, and Software.
Thanks to help by David Stevenson, it looks like the migration from the legacy database will be less manual work than initially forecast, so this is great news for everyone!
What's the expected timeline for all this?
In November, I hope to have performed preliminary item consolidations and migrations for the major camera brands.
In December, I hope to do the same for telescopes too.
In January, I hope that the image upload and edit forms have been ported to use equipment items from the new database, as well as the images' technical cards.
In February, I hope that I have completed work on the community pages for equipment items and the new search tools.
🏅 Preparation for the IOTD/TP team 2022
I have spent a considerable amount of time, this month, preparing the process for the IOTD/TP team 2022.
Starting from this year, the IOTD/TP Staff is appointed via a democratic process that comprises of the following phases:
A call for volunteers is made via the AstroBin newsletter, website, and social channels. Usually several hundred vounteers apply.
A voter registration invitation is sent to all paying members of AstroBin. The first 2,500 registered voters will have the right to vote.
Up to 2,500 voters vote anonymously to elect up to 8 Judges.
The appointed Judges then vote to select the members of the Submitters and Reviewers groups.
I had to work many hours to prepare several application and registration forms, handle communications through various channels, and perform a pre-screening of the Judge candidates (well over 100).
You can see the list of pre-screened candidates here:
www.welcome.astrobin.com/iotd-judge-candidates-2022
Learn more about the IOTD/TP process here:
ℹ️ Finally a bio/about section!
A long awaited (and long postponed) feature finally landed on AstroBin! Your about/bio section is now displayed on your gallery.
🌠 New uploader for image revisions
The new (since 2020) image uploader has been made to work for image revisions too. This makes the experience more robust and streamlined.
👨 Improvements to the avatar settings page
Fixed a bug that made your avatar not update if you uploaded another one with the same filename of an avatar you previously uploaded.
Added support to delete avatars
Some small visual improvements
🛰 If you haven't already, please fill in the StealthTransit survey
Existing and planned large constellations of bright satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEOsats) are expected to affect astronomical observing.
Astronomers are just beginning to understand the full range of impacts on the discipline.
The StealthTransit team encourages the AstroBin community to participate in a quick online user research survey (approximately 10 minutes) to assess the impact of artificial satellites (such as StarLink) on astronomy and astrophotography.
Share your experience using the following form (filling in your name and email is optional).
This is a topic that gains more and more relevance and StealthTransit is working on novel hardware to mitigate this problem. Your early feedback would be very useful not only for amateur astronomy but professional astronomy as well. Thank you!
If you didn't fill that form last time, please come forward and provide your feedback in relation to the problem of artificial satellites negatively impacting astrophotography, amateur astronomy, and the human experience of the stars and the Milky Way.
If you've already taken a part in the survey, please, help to raise awareness in this regard.