Knighty2112

Hi Andrew. Yes, after 50 plus years of trying to find that answer I realise that science doesn’t have an answer for that. Some are fine with that, but for me it just niggles away still trying to glean back in time and space past that initial inflation after the big bang and the formation of the universe we inhabit now.

Hi Jim. What I want to know is what’s kicking the can if that’s what we are now calling the universe!

Great points vlaiv, but still kicking the can down the road!

My big problem with the big bang is we just keep kicking the can further down the road, but don’t get to any satisfactory answer as to the actual (for want of better terminology) the first point of its creation. With the current model there has to be something before (no matter how small) that has to have been before the big bang, otherwise we get to something that would be impossible; the instant creation of something from absolutely nothing. So we find ourselves faced with a dilemma; either we stare down in the rabbit hole of existence into a never ending sequence of events that eventually led to the big bag (otherwise we still face the possibility of something been created at some point from absolute nothing (no space, time or any other kind of dimension). If we go with the view that at some point there was a very first point of creation for the universe (in whatever form that first creation took to eventually lead to where we are now), then we are faced with these dual dilemmas that have no easy answer. Sadly, I am not smart enough to say which one is correct, and I kind of think that science will never be able to answer this fully satisfactorily either.

Is it Windows antivirus that is stopping it been downloaded? If so you should be able to disable your antivirus whilst you download it, then turn it back on after this. You may have to place the downloaded file in a folder and get your antivirus software not to scan that folder as it might delete the download again if it thinks it is suspicious. I have had this happen with Norton antivirus on a few occasions.

Any dates for when it will be available perhaps?

Cool down time for my ‘fracs (80mm & 102mm) is practically zero, so basically get them outside and start observing with them straight away. 150mm Mak and especially the 150 CC will take time to cool down and give you their best views. When I had a 6” inch CC it seemed like it took forever to get anywhere near anything like the ED ‘fracs would show me straight off the bat after setting up.

Owning all three types of scope at some point (but still have the ED ‘fracs) I would definitely go with the ‘frac.

I fear with the rise of AI misinformation is going to get even worse, so looking for any certain truths are going to be very much harder.

Watching with interest as to what comes out. The UFO/UAP phenomena has interested me since early teens, and still does so now many years later. Governments around the world know much more than they are letting on. Quite a few theories on what they are and where they are from etc (from alien visitations at one end of the scale, to earth energies that creates the UAP’s in the mind of any observer), but there is something to the phenomena as much as it gets ridiculed and scorned at in main stream media, so I keep a very open mind on the subject.

Nice shot. Very busy up there! Might get my scope out to have a looksie too! 👍🏻

Portable with a fork lift truck ‘eh!

Yes, Becvar’s AOTH is a beautiful book. Found my copy on ebay over a year ago in very good condition still, but minus the key part which was missing as it is a separate leaf. Managed to find an image of one online and printed a copy of it.

Yep, exactly. Anachronisms abound in a few places in the heavens.

I’m guessing that people making the later more modern charts are referencing this double from much earlier charts. So is this a case of them just copy and pasting here and not noticing this confusion with its designation here? 🤔

Yep, confusing it is. Where are the chart police when you need ‘em?

It’s the second edition. It also lists it a a showpiece double in the list for Hercules in the lists after the charts. Definitely confusing for sure.

Yeah, confusing to call it 49 Serpentis still when not in that constellation no more. Astronomy certainly has some odd things with it!

Just found in my Atlas of the Heavens also that it is listed in Hercules, but noted on the chart as 49 Ser. The variable star with the same number 49 is shown also to the left. This was a chart drawn up circa 1950 by Becval.

Not all the books I have are shown here as there are approx another 20 to 30 spread over all the other book cases, but the biggest majority shown here mostly. The old copy Norton’s was the first star atlas I owned, followed not long after by the massive New Concise Atlas of the Universe back in the early 80’s. Last image shows the 2 books autographed by Patrick Moore and one by David A.Hardy which if I remember rightly was possibly the first book he published, but could be wrong on that!

My astro collection is not located in just one bookcase, but spread over 7 of them around the house, downstairs and upstairs. I have books starting from the early 80’s up until now. Although I do own an old star atlas I got off ebay just over a year ago that was published in the 60’s, and based on an earlier atlas published earlier last century. Got 2 books signed by Patrick Moore, and one signed by Davis A . Hardy from a competition from an astronomy magazine I won from the mid 80’s. Try and get photos of them later on.

They were both after the bees honey!

After doing a brief session on Thursday evening with the only thing worth looking at been double stars due to the light nights, on the Friday evening I sat down to chart some interesting doubles to look at for next time. I was looking at doubles in Hercules with it been in a good position for me to observe with the street lamps near me. So looking in the Cambridge Double Star Atlas one of the first ones I jotted down was listed as Struve 2021, a 7.4/7.5 magnitude double with a separation of 4.1 seconds of arc. My list didn’t grow much longer as I was too tired to only note one other double to check out been Struve 2052. So this afternoon I decided to check out and make a list in Skysafari for my Hercules doubles list taking shape to look at the next time I get my 102mm ED f11 ‘frac out under the skies. Looking at CDSA again at Struve 2021 it was also listed as 49 with what I assumed to mean 49 Herculis. Typing this in as a search on Skysafari it listed 49 Herculis as a 6.5 mag variable star, not a double, and not in the same location in Hercules either but further to the east. Typing in Struve 2021 in Skysafari did bring up the correct double I wanted, but was not listed as under 49 Herculis. Thinking that CDSA has made an error in listings it as 49 Herculis I checked in Sissy Hass’ book on double stars, where it is listed under Hercules, but listed as 49 Serpentis! Confused, I checked Burnham’s but it was listed only under Struve 2021. Finally checking also in my Deep Sky Atlas it has it listed in the chart also as 49, so as can be seen in the image below there are two items listed in the Hercules chart as number 49. Digging deeper it seems that Struve 2021 prior to re-defining the constellation boundaries before 1930 did used to lie in Serpens where it was listed as 49 Serpentis. So today it seems that it still retains this number in some charts still, with Hass listing it as 49 Serpentis even when in the list of doubles under Hercules!

Hi, just a heads up if anyone is looking to get Skysafari Plus or Pro versions apps for either their Apple or Android devices then they are having a massive discount on both versions at the moment for fathers day upcoming. Grab a bargain whilst you can! 👍🏻

Clips plays OK from here. 👍🏻