paulastro

Thanks for posting that John, much appreciated. I've just read it after, quite coincidently, watching the episode on Black Holes. Wow! In my view, this episode in itself is more than enough to justify the making of the series. For anybody with an open and enquiring mind, it's something that could have a profound affect on how they think about the cosmos. Observing M31 may never be quite the same again !

Well, I just hope no one from the beeb reads the last three pages of comment I've just waded through, or they might never put on any astronomy content again! I go back a long way and I'm a bit of a philistine in terms of style of TV style I prefer. Having said that, I've still enjoyed the three episodes I've seen so far, and I am willing to admit I picked up bits and bobs I didn't know. I suspect it will be enjoyed by many people. Of course, no one has to watch it if they don't want to.

Thanks Stu. I'm confused now 😁. Though off hand, and it is late, I can't think of a star cluster (with physically associated stars) which anyone calls an asterism? Just out of interest, I googled star cluster, which came up with the definition below, though I'm not sure it actually helps us or not 😆. Anyway, everyone knows what the Pleiades looks like, whatever anyone classifies it as 😊.

I thought an asterism by definition consists of stars that are not physically related, but I could be wrong Stu. I can think of several Clusters which have bright stars within their boundaries which are not physically related, but just happen to be in the line of site. If I remember correctly, in NGC 457 (the Owl or ET cluster) the two bright stars which are the 'eyes' are not actually part of the cluster.

Having posted this, there may be many strangers getting in touch who want to become your best friend 🙂.

Yes, it's an asterism.

? Er, whatever is the subject of this thread exactly? Bake Off?

I'd like to say a big thank you to you all who have responded. I've ordered the Pennington book, but have also been informed about a couple of other deep sky resources which I am following up. I'm also going to use a spare copy of S&Ts Pocket Sky Atlas to make myself a bespoke Atlas. All my favourite targets (as well as the Messier objects) will be marked using a stencil to add a Telrad outer circle size ring round each one. All of your responses have been useful to me, again, thank you all

Thank again Shimrod, ordered this morning, they have a good stock of them if anyone else wants one! 😊

Many thanks Shimrod. Just seen your post. That's great, I'll check it out first thing tomorrow, and if they do have a copy in stock I'll order it - I'll let you know how I get on. Fingers crossed!

Stephan. I've done a search and the only seller I found was Amazon which lists it at £31.68, which seems rather a lot for a 96 page soft back? A shame as it looks a good book. There may have been a facility to order it from the link you kindly sent, but alas if so I couldn't see it - my lack of German is not helping I'm afraid. 🤔

Many thanks Heather, that's a brilliant idea! I'm away from Friday for a few days, but I'll certainly follow it up when I get up. Thank you very much 🙂.

Many thanks Stephan, it looks a great book, I could probably figure out what bits of the descriptions mean. For some reason, when I looked at the link on my phone it kept on the move from one page to the other so it was hard to follow 😄. I'll check out the book and it's availability, thanks again Stephan.

Many thanks Stu, I'm tempted to buy this if you recommend it, bearing in mind I only use up to 6 inches aperture at home? I've never come across this book before, it seems to have lots of goodies in it.

Many thanks Robbie. I did see this, but its more than I would pay for it, I could have perhaps managed £25, for £50 I could probably buy a printer and print off the online charts I came across! 😄 Thanks for the heads up anyway Robbie.

Well Louis, certainly no problems with dripping sweat everywhere in West Yorkshire while solar observing - with or without the dark cloth I have over my head 😊.

The only Messier Guide I know which has this is Penningtons book below. I've put a wanted ad on SGL for a copy of this, but this may be a long shot as it was published yonks ago. Does anyone know of any other Messier book/Guide which contains Telrad finder charts for each object? If you do I'd be very grateful for a heads up, even if it's now out of print. I have found them online, but I'm afraid I don't have any printer facilities to print them off. Thanks for reading, Paul

I realised this morning, as I wrote it on my calendar, that next year's Kelling Star Party in September coincides with Jupitet's opposition on September 26th. On this date Jupiter is mag -2.9 and a whopping 49.9" and transits at an altitude of about 35 degrees, depending on your location. In fact from Sept 8th to Oct 18th the planet remains at mag -2.9 and at least 49" diam.! I'm looking forward to it all ready 😊.

I'm just surprised anyone is taking it seriously and/or getting hot under the collar about it. If it was a book it would be filed under the fiction section 😁.

Another positive for covering up from me. It amazes me so many people don't bother. I've just returned from Kelling where I still covered my head and it made a big difference even in the prevalent dark skies. There is always impinging light detracting from the image - unless you are in one of those rare locations where you literally can't see someone stood three feet away from you. In an urban location its a must do in my view.

There's nothing to stop you going and saying hello to people, but you'd best do it during the daytime. I'm at Kelling now, and though the covid restrictions are less than last year, many people won't welcome people coming round at night time as your likely to get closer to people than they wish. The organisers say you shouldn't touch other folks equipment unless you sanitise your hands first, and have been invited. Sharing eyepieces is not encouraged. Many people are more strict and you must be sensitive to people's concerns. I' won't be sharing telescopes or encouraging people to stop by after dark, even If I know them. I'm not unsociable, but cautious. As I said, the day time would be much better. If you're still around on Saturday, do come for the trade day. There are at least a dozen traders who have stands, and many people sell all sorts of goodies from their pitches. Many stands will be up and running from about 9 am

Yes Mike, I still have the bag and use it for my 102mm F7 Tecnosky. I have to be honest though, it is inferior to the OKLOP bag I still have in every way. One of the zip pulls came off ages ago and it is of much poorer quality than the OKLOP. I only use this cheaper bag as its shorter than the OKLOP bag, and I only use it to take the scope outside. If I was going on a trip with my 102 I'd use the OKLOP as it gives better protection. If you recall I originally bought the OKLOP for my SW120ED. The cheaper bag is OK for storage but not transporting. The DZ deserves an OKLOP in my view.

I've already penned an email to Peter Drew at The Astronomy Centre to ask if we can buy one. I'm waiting with baited breath in expectation of a positive response 😄.

I've used a binoviewer for years for planetary, solar and lunar observing, with scopes from 70mm upwards. For me, they give a far more relaxed and pleasureable viewing experience. More importantly they ALWAYS show more detail. Far cheaper than 'upgrading your telescope to get a better view.

There's a review of the Scopetech Mount, by Steve Ringwood, in the October 2021 issue of Astronomy Now.