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rockystar

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Posts posted by rockystar

  1. 7 hours ago, Zermelo said:

    Not from the postie, but speedily via Evri (which I just learned is the new name for Hermes; got a PR problem? Change your name ...)

    Courtesy of @rockystar:- my first venture into glow-in-the-dark excellence. If the night skies are as cloudy as I fear, I can just sit in the lounge with the lights off and admire the phosphorescence.

     

    Morph9.jpg.f9f233cbf2dc55e2bd52185084bc4d4b.jpg

     

    Free clouds with every purchase 😀

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
  2. Hi all, I've been quite for a while. Hope everyone is safe and keeping well.

    I've been trying to work out if i can make it to this year's event, but unfortunately it falls on the weekend of my daughter's 10th birthday, so i'm not going to be able to come. So i'm aiming for the spring one instead - is that one in March?

     

  3. Hi,

    does anyone know of any open APIs that return images of deep sky objects? I'm specifcally (at the moment) looking for items in the NGC or IC catalog.

    I'm aware of, and have used, the APOD (i have it changing my desktop background eveyday), and i've had a look at the NASA & Hubble image APIs, but neither really return what i want, as they use fairly generic search strings. Ideally I'd like something where i can make a call like so: GET /image?catalog=ngc&number=7000   and then i get (probably) a url to an image of the NAN.

    Thanks

    Rocky

  4. I'm hoping to come again - but no whisky this time!

    I do need to see what is happening about my daughter's birthday, as it is on the Sunday (so may have to come home on Saturday). I'm also going to hang on to see what's happening about this virus thing that's going around, before I book.

    If not, i will be there in March.

    • Like 3
    • Haha 1
  5. Could have been an Iridium flare, but not sure how many are still up there. They were communicate satellites that used to flash very brightly as their solar panels faced the sun.

    They were a spectacular sight if you caught a glimpse of one, just as you described, but they've been decommissioned now and started to be deorbited

     

    (Edit) Just checked, the iridium satellites are still I'm service,  but the new ones no longer flare. Don't know if any of the old ones are still.om orbit.

    • Like 1
  6. 11 hours ago, mapstar said:

    More the Maoam break dance. 

    MAOAM

    That Whiskey is slippery stuff on the floor and stings when splashed in the eye . Just glad no one was injured. 

    I may not remember all of Thursday evening, but I'm pretty sure it didn't go that far.

    I had a great weekend, and even got to see those skies and use my telescope. Though heave dew prevented me from having as long as I'd have liked (and the fog that drifted in didn't help either)

    And just to echo all the thanks to Mike, Lesley and Ralph.  And also to Derek and Dave for all they did on Friday night. 

    • Like 5
  7. 41 minutes ago, Uplooker said:

    Never say never. Conditions can change very either way.

    I know. Don't become an astronomer in the UK without eternal optimism and a full bottle of whiskey. I'll still be there,  it'll only be my fourth out of four star parties I've attended where I've barely looked through my telescope 

    • Haha 2
  8. 5 hours ago, Demon Barber said:

    Hi All just had a quick word with Lesley overnight rain has made the field wet . but it is drying quickly, Julian had just arreived on site so we will get a detailed report later ,no doubt.

    Mike

    This is what I was worried about with all this rain . As we got cancelled a couple of years ago because the field was flooded. Fingers crossed it will be ok. And next Thursday is when I'll be arriving, so I'll bring them clear skies with me

    • Like 2
  9. I remember being out with @mapstar one evening,  he was trying to persuade me that there was a galaxy in the eyepiece; I remain unconvinced 😁

    On another occasion, someone more experienced talked me through observing the Leo triplet; I'd go the two messiers easy enough, but with him talking  me through where the other was and what I was looking for I eventually saw it. Moral of this I think, is that some times you just need to know what you are looking for.

    Another occasion I was at an open  evening with the local  astro group looking at M57. It was obvious and clearly visible, yet one person, who had never looked through a telescope just couldn't see it until we told him to look for the smoke ring.

    • Like 3
  10. I've quit my job to make sure that I get a few days here this time - kind of true,  my contract ends on the 30th, I'll be there on 31st. Probably stay until Monday. 

    Not sure what you'll think of this, but I'm going to be bringing some Welsh whiskey with me...

    Getting excited now. I haven't had my scope out, or been on the forum for about 6 months.

    • Like 2
    • Haha 1
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