If you find yourself asking "I already know about this, why is this on the front page?" Take a moment, you've just answered your own question.
It's a little bit like an article saying "computer engineers use special software that could take human readable source code and convert it into executable binaries for faster execution". A layperson would have their minds blown, but it's a super-yawner for those in the industry.
While there's some truth to that, it's not about how cold you get it, it's about how consistent the temperature is, as for a given CCD noise will usually be the same at the same temperature. I take darks only about once a month or if I notice a new hot pixel on an output - I take them at a range of temperatures, so that depending on what the weather is like I can choose a temperature for light frames, and then just use my pre-cooked darks.
Out of interest, unless you live in a desert, how are you setting to -40 delta without the thing freezing?
As to "why is this here?" - Astrophotography is a great hobby that'd likely appeal to the HN crowd. Sitting out under the stars spending hours doing very fine polar alignment, only to get a few dozen exposures, while worrying about everything from dew to wind to beetles climbing your tripod legs, and then days in startools, DSS, and all the rest, seeing just how much information you can squeeze out of your often slightly blurry light frames.
I actually almost enjoy the DSP end of things more - there's something ineffably cool about starting with the same set of input images and getting radically different results depending on how you treat them. I mean - stick a drizzle filter on your image, do a wavelet sharpen, lift your jaw from the floor, as it seems like you've just done some CSI style "ENHANCE" shit. Here's an example of what you can start with, and end up with - I'm really not too good at this and only have limited kit, but it's still exciting. This is the dumbbell nebula, shot on a windy night with a full moon - I shouldn't have bothered almost, but the final is still decent considering the garbage input. http://imgur.com/a/tyZ4j
Anyway, ramble aside, the more folks who are aware of astrophotography the merrier. It's just too much fun.
Also great shot! I feel your pain with the wind, dew and bugs... but it's still an awesome hobby.