Mr H in Yorkshire

Way back I helped unpack a very expensive and delicate piece of x-ray equipment. It had been packed in a crate inside a larger crate, from each of the eight corners an elastic was attached so the gear was effectively suspended in isolation from the outer container. The cargo net sounds to do the same thing or you make a bespoke 3 dimensional 'octopus' of bungees.

I expect there is a large element of 'romance' as opposed to cold rationality in the minds of the imagers. By which I mean if a 'best possible image' was the overwhelming or sole objective then purchasing best data would be the strictly rational way to proceed, but strict rationality is itself 'cold'.

Despite the leg pulling, unless you you happen to have a crowd of fashion critics (e.g. airheads) in your obsy, why should you care. You have to dress for the occasion!

Disclaimer: I am visual only, and I enjoy making stuff, that is my area of interest, might be tempted one day to EEA but never AP. Although there are so many people agonising over their difficulties in simply getting results these past many months, it seems to me that most posts are about processing - so much so that it also seems to me that processing is the major interest for very many observers. Given that, I don't know why simply buying the best data from worldwide, best site telescopes isn't way more popular. A metre-class scope in say Namibia is always going to outdo a 5" objective in soggy UK and still cost a packet with a decent camera/mount/computing. What am I missing?

Welcome from one Paul to another. I joined relatively recently and have found nothing but good, solid, friendly advice and camaraderie here, especially in view of our UK weather (that won't be a problem for you).

I was a bit unsure about sending that, a bit too much mickey take maybe. However the truth is: I wish! Despite having a super mid moorland dark sky site about a half hour away, if I had actually taken a night time photo almost anytime this past six months it would have been a dismal opaque grey.

Here's mine, it was really dark that night.

I imagine vinyl tile or vinyl flooring, cut into thin strips, would have the right properties for your problem.

I made this joke once but I think it bears repeating. What do you call someone who invests thousands of pounds in exotic optical equipment in order to look at clouds? An amateur astronomer.

More frustration oop North. A beautiful start to the day, crescent moon gleaming. I thought too, at least I can get out the PST. Now mostly clouded, no clear sun and none expected, just clouds then rain again tonight. I hope your area stays clear for you.

There are occasions when my missus expresses a preference for my previous less relaxed self. Only today for instance, but I won't go into detail...

To avoid the cold/fogging issue you could make Mk 2 as a box with your eps in holes in a plate inside, and pop in a hand warmer sachet on the colder nights. I think your basic idea is sound, but like most things, it can be improved, it's just a case of deciding if the effort/cost is worth it.

Life is hard for perfectionists, as I was once counselled by a manager. Do what I have done, get in touch with you inner slob and relax.. 😉

I think some of the 'once bitten twice shy' advice is probably right. Despite the numerous storms of recent years, outside the highlands and islands we rarely experience really extreme winds but I have seen what can happen. In 1987 we lived in south London, right in the firing line of the 'hurricane'. In the area numerous massive trees crashed down, but domestically we acquired the remains of a glasshouse, shorn of its glass, from four gardens away, an upstairs window pane simply burst, and most telling of all, our next door neighbours large cherry tree came through the fence still standing, the trunk simply sheared at ground level and the whole thing went sideways simply splitting the panel vertically leaving the two pieces like an open gate. I never imagined such a thing was possible. With this sort of force, overengineering is the only safe course, especially with what the future bodes - the main prediction of climate warming is more energetic phenomena.

Daily newspaper headlines 'Amateur Astrologer drowns neighbour'.

That's bad news but good that the scope was undamaged. You may be surprised if you do find the roof, my brother in law had a double stable completely destroyed, the roof was found intact but nearly half a mile away (his place is very rural so no chance of hitting anything/one thank goodness) but the doors for instance, we never found.

Seriously, have you considered making a proper pond in that area next to your patio, and making a decent drain for the outflow? If you are going to have to lift the patio for repair you might find where the water is currently draining off, and if it's not likely to create more problems, tap into it.

My highly competent meteorologist neighbour just released his December report - warmest and wettest on his 40 years of records. The bad news, at least in my 35 years of living here in Yorkshire, is that Jan and Feb are generally the most dismal months so although the days will be longer, I'm not celebrating the clear skies. I am really disappointed because I really love the winter constellations and I've scarcely seen them.

I blame it all on the Noah's ark re-enactment society. I think their HQ is just down the road.

You should try buying a yoghurt. My wife asked me to get a particular type - do we really need 2000 different varieties? I was literally given a headache and still got the damn thing wrong. Now we make our own.

Looking forward to those stereo photos and precision parallax measures of distant galaxies 🤔

If you want to check that you really are picking up radiation effects you might try sitting your camera on a block of granite.

Exquisite work, you should be very pleased with yourself.

Trouble is they are not obliged to repair the damage, and if they use a digger...

As we are talking hydrogeology anecdotes, where I lived in London was downhill from Crystal Palace and our back garden coincided with what had been the river Efra. Most of the year that end of the garden resembled pictures of the Somme. For the benefit of the local frog population, which was abundant, I decided to dig a pond. A mere spade-depth down was un-oxidised clay (blue not brown) and the water table was so high that water actually squirted out of worm holes as I dug. The pond was very successful, come mating time the happy couples were cheek by jowl and we couldn't sleep for the croaking. Word got around and people nearby actually brought frogs to us that they had found in their own gardens, as if they were needed! In a pond about 8' by 8' there must have been 300 mating pairs and the pond was converted to spawn city. I like frogs.