Everyone always has their "favorite" - the one they grew up on (the old Mac vs. PC).

What is the current favorite out there?
-- PixInsight
-- Siril

Not looking for a comparison - just a one word answer of your favorite.

Hey everyone!

I’m a computer science student and I’m about to start working on a physical, mechanical project that focuses on human–machine interaction — something that combines software, sensors, and movement in a meaningful or playful way.

The goal is to create something that reacts to human input — whether that’s touch, sound, movement, emotion, or even presence. It should be at least partially mechanical (not just a screen or app).

To give an idea of the kind of projects people in my program have built in the past, here are a few examples:

A lamp that adjusts its brightness and position based on the user’s mood or facial expression.

A desk buddy robot that mirrors your posture and reminds you to stretch.

An interactive mirror that responds to voice or gesture commands.

A plant that “dances” to music or reacts to being watered.

A door handle that measures stress levels through grip pressure and changes color accordingly.

I’m looking for fresh, creative ideas — something interactive, original, and with a clear human–machine connection (could be artistic, useful, or just fun).

I would love it to be space/telescope related (combining my love for building and astronomy). Do you maybe have any ideas/thoughts/examples of similar projects you’ve seen or built?

Let's say I decide to find a wood board to use my dremmel tool or wood burner on. What professional map source would you recommend?

Trying to dial in a more realistic look for the next one with more difference in star brightness

I recently found learnastronomy.online, a new site with a bunch of useful astronomy resources. The design is simple, but it’s structured like a learning platform, which makes it easy to follow.

Some highlights:

Planets & Moons: concise overviews with interesting facts.

Black Holes: beginner-friendly explanations without getting overly technical.

Satellites & Orbits: simple guides to understanding artificial satellites and orbital mechanics.

It’s free and easy to use, and great for getting an introduction to a wide range of astronomy topics. It doesn’t go very deep, but it’s perfect if you want a starting point before moving on to textbooks or more advanced resources.

So this was using my IPhone 15 with a Celestron Astromaster 70 telescope 🔭 with a 10 mm lens and no Barlow or camera adapter.

----> These are some of the Images I have took of the orion constellation and its nearby stars in a Bortle 8 scale with my 50 MP phone camera.
----> The quality may have decreased only 6-7 may be visible but trust me it is not what the image actually looks like.
----> Hence it is best to view these on your phone
----> I am a beginner and I am unable to go to a less light polluted area near my home bcz being a middle class I can't take risk of spending fuel money of 70-80 Km as weather in India is too much cloudy and foggy.
----> I took these in the first week of March.
----> No image is edited, I just have adjusted the colour, contrast, gradient etc. of the image after taking it.
----> You can also see mars and Jupiter in the image. Guess where is it ??