Moonshed

Blimey!

vlaiv, I find that I always tend to agree with your comments, but on this occasion I have to say, with all due humility, you are wrong. Infinity, although a mathematical symbol, is only a concept, not a number. It is no more a number than happy, sad or banana, it’s a word. Depending on use infinite is either an adjective or a noun.

Ah, in that case totally understand.

You’re lucky your missus didn’t hoist you up the pole!

Welcome to SGL. My first “proper” telescope was a Tasco refractor, I think it was about about 2”. I purchased it specifically to observe Halley’s comet in 1986 and it did the job. I will never forget the comments my two young girls made when I let them view it through the scope “Is that it? That little smudge?” Yep, that was it! I’m still looking at little smudges today, 34 years later.

I’m glad you explained about the fault most likely being something in the light path because it makes perfect sense. When I thought how it looked like the effect created by a Bhatinov mask it made me think it must be an obstruction of sorts in the light path, perhaps the filter drawer, but knowing nothing about this scope or filter drawers I decided to keep quiet and leave it to someone who actually knows what they are talking about, I’m still learning!

I’m sure the clever ones here will figure out what the problem is, all I can say is it looks as though your tracking or pa was a little adrift but that has nothing to do with those spikes, they remind me of the effect caused by a Bhatinov mask.

Could you post a photo of your set up for clarification?

It’s interesting to note that on a logarithmic scale us humans are halfway, a cat’s whisker either side, between the smallest sub-atomic particle and the vastness of the universe. One can only wonder about such a coincidence.

My favourite for showing the scale of the universe is a YouTube video. it works really well in conveying a sense of the vastness of the cosmos. I give it 9/10. I would give it ten but nothing’s perfect!

Always assuming there is or was a God that more or less matches up to one of the many manmade religions. It would appear more likely than not that a man called Jesus did exist, although whether or not he was the son of God, as described above, is open to discussion. It is also debatable if he believed he actually was the son of God, or was just a regular guy acting out one of the many so called prophesies that were popular at the time. “It is written...” etc. I don’t pretend to know the answer and nor does anyone else, but people have the prerogative to believe in whatever they wish.

Reading all these comments about a fabled star, and all the discussions regarding what the star could have been, the real date Jesus was born, the actual date the star was seen and where...and so on, I am reminded of Carl Sagan and his amazing “Pale blue dot” speech, it puts things into perspective. This is quickly followed by “Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.” Douglas Adams. Its nice to get a handle on these things. It’s nice to get a handle on these things.

Love the delicate way you have shaded the Cassini Division! 😂

Well done, these moments are precious, time’s running out and the weather is against us.

What? What conjunction?

I knew that right from the beginning, I was just curious to see how long it would take anyone else to figure it out. 🤥

I had a quick look around and see Astro Engineering used to be closely tied to Telescope House so I went to their site and found this. Maybe it’s a part of this observer tray. I've added a screen shot for convenience. https://www.telescopehouse.com/By-manufacturer/Astro-Engineering/Astro-Engineering-ObserverTray-for-ETX80.html

I have no idea but I think knowing it’s size may help others.

Talking of solar eclipses... I went down to Cornwall in 1999 to watch it and remembered good advice I was given, forget about your camera and instead enjoy the moment! I enjoyed the moment.

Funny hobby isn’t it? One minute we are admiring a really splendid image of Andromeda, the next a wobbly, blurred image of a couple of planets, and appreciate them equally.

Seems to me that the more momentous the event the more likely it is to cloud over.

When you do find Polaris you will discover it is much brighter than the surrounding stars and stands out in comparison, also as an aid two nearby stars make up a small triangle

Definitely yes, the vast majority of new joiners are decent well mannered people, it’s very rare to come across an ill mannered one.

Hi GiorgioF, I have to say I am looking forward to seeing your next image using an h alpha filter. As you say it is a matter of everything all coming together, good seeing, good tracking, good pa, accurate focusing and a ton of luck! Clear skies!

Thank you for the information, much appreciated, I now understand it much more than I did before.