Hertford Stargazer

Yes, I walked the dog and spent a few minutes looking at Mars and trying to comprehend what had just been achieved.

Excellent

So far so good

Yes, Lucie Green was on Radio 4 this morning talking about this.

Not as important as tube rings but we're still waiting for a missing lego part from our ISS kit. Brought for xmas day entertainment, 25 minutes into the build a vital part was discovered missing. Phoned and ordered said part on 29th December, chased order mid January to be told it was stuck in a lorry at Dover. Then January 31st recieved an email notification of dispatch, February 6th we're still waiting

Disappointed to see that S@N is taking another 2 month break during peak stargazing season. I seem to remember this happening last year before the pandemic took hold. Looks like the quota has been reduced to 10 programs a year.

There's more but I won't shame myself any further

like I said its just one corner, here's another corner.

Hope the builds go smoothly. We're still waiting for a missing part to the space station which lego say they dispatched on Dec 29th and are blaming Brexit for the delay

My wife must be the most tolerant woman in the world, this is just one corner!

A little hope maybe - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9034445/Light-pollution-controlled-sake-future-generations-MPs-claim.html Edit: Sorry, I've just seen this is already covered in another thread

In a nearby village there is a house on a hillside who a few months ago installed the mother of all floodlights pointing almost vertically illuminating a very large tree. Said tree and associated mini light dome were visible for several miles in some directions. On approaching the house from the top of the hill and rounding the bend in the road you were blinded by the glare. I dropped the local Environmental Officer an email complaining about the situation and also admitting to my astronomy interest. I pointed out politely a few key issues which were as follows. 1- the hazard to road

Certainly makes me feel spoilt and lucky at the array of equipment available today. When I was a kid in the 70's my father acquired a home made refractor made out of plastic tubing not dissimilar from drainpipe. It had no mount or fixings but worked fairly well, I would use various toys and cushions to wedge it on the window ledge aimed at the moon. However I always got frustrated because I would leave the scope unattended while eating dinner or having a bath only to find upon my return the scope had moved and I would need to realign. I concluded that my makeshift mounts were not much good and

My uncle was clearing the house of a deceased friend and found this kit telescope from 1954. I wondered if anyone knows more about it? Neil

Years ago I stored my 200p dob upright with a black bin bag over the top, the bag wasn't big enough to cover the whole scope I just figured it would offer some protection against dust etc. I soon changed my mind when I realised the optical tube was turning yellow. Nobody smokes in our household and the bottom part of the optical tube, which wasn't covered by the bag, remained lovely and white. I stopped using the bin bag and replaced it with a foil survival sleeping bag, eventually the yellow faded and now all is well.