life & style // 16

Stargazing 101

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“hs Dan Posey

The Martlet

Fincins hobbies was one of
the most rewarding things I

did during my undergrad. For

me, the hobby that stuck was

astrophotography. Building

a new skill set and applying

myself to technical problems

helped with my sanity, but also

introduced me to new circles

of informed professionals

and enthusiasts. I look back

at my experiences learning

astrophotography over the past

four years and wonder where

: the time has gone. As a hobby it
: has at times been challenging,

: draining, and frustrating, but

: every success makes those long
: nights worth it—and you can

: do it too,

Technology has come so

: far in the past decade that

: anyone can take up the hobby
: with an off-the-shelf DSLR.

: Snapping hand-held pictures of :
: the moon, or capturing video:
: files to develop into a planetary
: image can be using froma

: simple tripod without the need
: for expensive tracking mounts.
: Even the most basic image

is out of this world. For me,

: it was an interest in galaxies

: and deep-sky photography

: that motivated me to take the
: plunge.

The first thing you need to

: accept when starting this hobby :
: is that space isamazing.Asa_
: history major, one of the things
: that hooked me on astronomy,

and later astrophotography,

: was the realization that when
: you look at the stars you are

: looking back in time. Even

: Andromeda, the nearest

: galaxy visible in the northern
: hemisphere, is a staggering

: two-million light-years away.

: Every particle of light from

: a galaxy or nebula captured

: during an imaging session has
: travelled an enormous distance. :

Unlike in the days of film
photography, the CCD and

: CMOS chips found in modern
: digital cameras allow us to

: combine the information of

: multiple images into a single

: result using a data reduction

: technique we call “stacking.”

: When | first began to take

: photos from my parent’s back
: porch, tracking limited my

: exposures to just 10 seconds

theotherpress.ca

 

Bambosz on Wikimedia

: each. Stacking hundreds of

: these frames together—with a
: free program no less—allowed
: me to recover striking detail in

my first images.
These days I use the

: facilities of Victoria’s chapter

: of the Royal Astronomical

: Society of Canada, which meets
: monthly on campus. There are
: many knowledgeable members
: happy to help anyone with an

: interest in bagging their first

: galaxy. Space is amazing and

: with modern technology it’s

: easier than ever to make your

: own images.

 

Meatless Monday

» Vegetarian Chilli

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

M lifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

 

I: getting cold and gloomy,
so the best thing to do is

sit inside and eat! Or at least

I think so. With chilli, no
matter what the weather is
like, you just feel good eating
it. But if you’ve decided to go
meatless, you might be scared
that vegetarian chilli may not
have the same effect. Well I

am here to tell you that you're
dead wrong! Vegetarian chilli
can be just as satisfying as one
filled with every farm animal
you can think of. This recipe is
a little more complicated than
my standard fare, but it freezes
well, so you can always make

a lot and then freeze it to save
for all those late nights you just
don’ feel like cooking, which
for me is most of the time.

In a large saucepan, add oil
and turn up burner to medium
heat. Wait for oil to get hot
before adding onions, carrots,
and garlic. Sauté until onions

: are translucent and carrots are
: tender. Add peppers and chili

: powder, stirring continuously

: until peppers are tender. This’ll
: take about six minutes.

Add in mushrooms, and

: stirring continuously again,

: cook for about four minutes.

: Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans,
: and corn. Add spices, then

: bring to boil (crank up the heat
: until liquid bubbles).

Reduce heat to medium,

: cover and simmer for 20

: minutes, stirring occasionally.
: Let stand for five minutes

: before serving.

If you're a full-time

: vegetarian, this meal is

: awesome for when youre sick
: or when you need a little extra
: protein. For those part-timers
: out there, this can be put over
: fries or hot dogs, basically

: anything that you can think

: to use normal chilli for, with

: the added bonus that it’ll be

: completely homemade and

: filled with nutritious veggies

: and none of those pesky animal
: fats that seem to wreak such

: havoc on our waistlines and

: arteries.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
  

Ingredients:

8 ml vegetable oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2. carrots, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

1small green bell pepper,
chopped

1small red bell pepper,
chopped

a

1tsp. chilli powder

50 g fresh mushrooms,
chopped

% a can whole peeled
tomatoes, with liquid

1can kidney beans, with
liquid

% a can whole kernel corn
1 tsp. ground cumin

Pinch of dried oregano
(optional)

Pinch of dried basil
(optional)

 

http://ourshareoftheharvest.com/