Gfamily

Just for the record, here's my first (nighttime) light image from a couple of nights back. Primarily bought for outreach purposes (or at least that's how we've justified buying it 🙂) , it's a great piece of kit. Set it up and then come indoors and watch the image develop over 20/30 minutes or so.

When using the handset, there should be a 'Constellation' option, when you've identified which constellations are good for viewing, the option will list suitable targets. If you download the Sky Safari App on a phone or tablet, there is a similar 'Tonight's Best' options that identifies what's visible that night from your location.

Is that detecting doppler shift? I'd have thought that reduced reflection time is more likely to be used to determine when adaptive cruise control kicks in - i.e., it's proximity rather than delta speed that triggers it.

I trust it's OK to post a link to another forum here... I'm not saying anyone really needs to spend more on this hobby, but if you are thinking of getting a new eyepiece, this link is to a spreadsheet of eyepieces collated by someone on the Cloudy Nights forum. Not all of them will be available in the UK, but it's something to browse to compare specs. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/919099-2024-eyepiece-buyers-guide/#entry13401672 (Link edited to the thread)

Can I show something that I unexpectedly did see in a 5" Mak that I would have normally expected to see in an 8" Newt? A spider.

The Double Cluster is quite satisfying, as it covers more of the frame than a number of other open clusters.

A good article here, that summarises the routes by which elements are synthesized. https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2016/05/11/which-elements-will-never-be-made-by-our-sun/ Direct fusion in the sun works for a small number of lighter elements Then there is the s-process, by which free neutrons released by some He fusion reactions can be captured piecemeal to synthesise some heavier elements. This will occur at the end of the sun's life when it goes into the red giant phase. The process that the sun won't use to generate elements is the r-process, which occurs in supernovae, when the huge number of free neutrons can be rapidly absorbed to make a greater range of heavier elements. One thing I'm not sure about is whether there would be any significant recycling of s-process elements (generated in the core during the red giant phase) back into to the interstellar medium, or whether the elements will remain locked up in the white dwarf formed by the core of the sun where the elements were generated.

Very true. We first met met him at a Peak Star Party in 2010 or 11, where he was excellent at giving encouragement and advice to anyone that came to him. It was notable that he was an enthusiastic camper, despite being in his late 60s by then. Subsequently we heard him talk several times, including at Lovell Lectures at his old workplace at Jodrell Bank. He also gave generously of his time to talk to local Astronomical societies, including my own club in November 2022. I'd noticed that the Jodrell Bank Monthly sky notes hadn't been updated for a while, so I did wonder if he was unwell. A big loss; his Astronomy Digest posts will be a lasting legacy I hope.

Always good to hear from someone who knows! 🙂

Imaged yesterday from Astrofarm France

Thanks Fabien I re-ran the stack using Sigma Clipping and it removed the effect.

Thanks I'll have a go at trying some of the other options. I'm using DSS for stacking.

Thanks I can certainly give that a go. The main issue is that this was a set taken just after I'd spent about 25 minutes taking 15s exposures of another area of the sky, so the camera had been fairly busy.

Using a tracking alt az mount I took about 9 minutes of exposures (30s each) and ended up with these multiple tracks. I assume these are hot pixels of some sort, and because the stacking matched on the stars they show as separate dots in the final stacked image. Would taking a 30s dark frame in the same session have helped?

If you're an android user, Google Play Books has a sample (that includes the pictures) to see what you think of the quality on a phone or tablet. £16.22 as an ebook for the full text I have generally been happy with books by the Mittons (my first 'proper' astro book was 'Exploring the Galaxies' by Simon Mitton)

Look up tonight and I guarantee your won't see the moon* My brother spent a few years working in a rural village in India, back in the 80s before the village had an electrical connection. Every month had a 'social' couple of weeks, when people would sit out under the moon and play, make music and chat, followed by a second couple of weeks when the moon only rose after midnight, and it was too dark to sit out. There are probably 2 or 3 days a month when the moon is too close to the sun to guarantee being able to see it even as a very slender crescent as the sun sets or rises. * Unless you're in the part of the globe that can see the solar eclipse, in which case you can see the moon in front of the sun, but that'll be in the daytime.

The Baker Street Irregular Astronomers are a group that meet in Regents' Park to share their interest in astro Their next meeting is on Tuesday 16th April. https://www.bakerstreetastro.org/meetings/ Alternatively, the GoStargazing website has an events map that might help you find a group https://gostargazing.co.uk/events-map/ The website also has a map showing recognised locations that might be suitable https://gostargazing.co.uk/location-map/

It was a talk by Ian that prompted me to buy the A5000 body when I saw one second hand in the London Camera Exchange shop in Chester. To be honest, he was also behind me getting my Pentax K5 when he recommended the sensor at one of the Peak Star Parties about a decade ago. I really can't afford to hear him talk again 🙂

As is mentioned upthread, the easiest way to switch off the automatic dark frame exposure is to use the autobracket mode BRK C 0.3ev, when using Bulb. The camera then thinks the image you're taking is the first of three and doesn't do the dark frame. Very easy.

I'm on the AstroMailBox mailing list, and the following has come in from Prof Andew Newsam at Liverpool John Moores University This may be of interest to someone here, or alternatively, you may know someone who would find this worth following up. Subject: Job: The Schools' Observatory: Liverpool, 5 year, full-time, Closing Date 29/4/24 Hello. We've got an exciting new role at the Schools' Observatory (https://www.schoolsobservatory.org/). We're on the lookout for someone passionate about astronomy to help us integrate the Faulkes Telescope Project with The Schools' Observatory. Your role? Develop exciting and educational observing experiences for schools using our Go Observing system and the Las Cumbres Observatory network. What we're after: * Knowledgeable in astronomical observation techniques * Ready to expand our catalogue of celestial objects for schools * Can connect telescope data to educational materials Ideal candidate: * Degree or equivalent in astronomy or related field * Hands-on telescope observing experience * Loves school-level education * Team player extraordinaire Sound like you? There is more information here: https://jobs.ljmu.ac.uk/vacancy/observational-data-and-development-officer-fixed-term-for-5-years-554934.html All the best Andy (Schools' Observatory Director)

Actual cloudy nights is probably why this has expanded to almost 60 pages.

HEQ5 with Rowan Belt mod - £1300; Starfield 102 - £900; ASI 585 - £380 vs Seestar 50 - £550

On the Welcome forum, Welcome anyway, but we'd love to hear more about you.

If you go to Google Books, you can use the filters to only look back at books from the 19th Century, and then search for solar observations - this might give you some insight into how solar astronomy was done in the past. Not necessarily good science (after all, it's less than 100 years since anyone knew that the Sun was mostly made of Hydrogen and Helium rather than the heaviw elements found on Earth), but a good record of observations.

Oh well, if you insist... The view from the coffee benches and (as it happens) most of the scopes visible in the image would have been Skywatcher branded. Yes, though it has to be said, there's a lot of new glass, either 'big' or 'interesting' so would catch attention.