Wikiastro

Hi, I follow a guy on YouTube who makes some.great space based videos. Some are about games (My favourite, Kerbal Space Program!), but some are about space science. This is a clip describing the process of refining the shape of the KBO that the New Horizons probe is aiming for, now it's done with Pluto. They use Skywatcher dobs! Really good video, check it out.

Does the job!

Hope the little fella's ok. We met a large healthy looking specimen on the way home from a party last Saturday.

This is definitely my opinion. Especially in crowded British skies. I mean, look at this. This is now. 11 20 pm on a Tuesday.

Ha! Just read that - wow it degenerated quickly!

WOW. There's an illustration of how dangerous solar observing could be! Glad your ok, and it was only a lens cap.

I'm guessing that they'd ruin any astrophotography going on in the area too.

Great photo - wouldn't be surprised to see it featured in an astromagazine!

I spend quite a bit (far too much) time browsing the internet and had a look at someones website from a while back, looking at the styling. It contained a how to guide and review of using a rifle green laser sight. This is the site. A quick look at ebay places these sights in the £15 range these days, and they strike me as ridiculously easy to use. BUT, and it is a big but, I have a couple of issues 1. Are they anti-social? I've seen they are banned from star parties, which is reasonable. But how visible are they from away from the beam emission site? I wouldn't want the local yoofs trying to find where that laser was coming from. 2. Do you think they might be frowned upon by the authorities? There have been far too many incidents of lasers shone at aircraft for my liking. I'd love your opinions on these gadgets please! Does anyone use them? David

Good luck Michael - the weather looks good. Solid overcast in the UK, so very little chance of seeing any of the little nibble the moon will make here.

We hired a lovely cottage in Dumfries and Galloway that was quite cheap and had lovely dark skies a couple of years ago. But it was Scotland. So got one night of partial clear skies in a week.

Looks great - make sure you share some pictures! David

Good point - It's harder to start something moving on the end of a long bar compared to a short bar. I'm only making a hypothesis - all metal has some flex in it, and a longer bar with a weight on the end would flex more than a short one, then spring back causing vibrations to last longer. It'd need testing to prove it. Both seem to suggest a short bar with a heavier weight is better.

The moment of a heavy weight on a short rod is the same as a lighter one on a long bar. BUT, I would guess a longer bar, with a weight at the end of it would flex more and hence cause more vibration. Try it and see!

Hi, by coincidence I was browsing the internet the other day and came across this website. The gentleman here has imaged the Crab Nebula pulsar. There are links to some professional methods in his method too. Hope this is useful. David