Rusted

One must always be prepared.

It would be enough to drive me to the Bortle were I still haunted by the hideous glow. Darkness only has true value when all false light has fled. For it doth burn the retinas of men and stir their souls to "mourning." Rage, rage against the coming of the light. Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the coming of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the coming of the light. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the coming of the light. [With all due apologies to Dylan Thomas]

"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency."

Do I see a green observatory in your stars? They can be completely invisible until you are actually standing inside it.

I built my two story observatory at the age of 70 working entirely alone. Except for the time my diminutive wife helped me move 25 tons of gravel in a couple of days. She'd have your "garden" cleared in a couple of hours with her bare hands. Consider if raising your obs would improve the view. Sometimes it doesn't need much. Devon is a great place for exploring the coast and countryside.

Thanks Dave. Thin, high cloud is being a nuisance here. Cloud is forecast for after lunch. Here's the same image with a more extreme iMPPG makeover to bring out a 3D effect.

Hi, We have weak sunshine and 41F, this Sunday morning, with a cold wind. I have been struggling to process my SharpCap videos. The Registax processing box goes white during Align. AS!3 is pushing the processed image right out of the "box." Yet, no obvious problem with guiding in the videos despite the occasional gusts. Proms are modestly sized or dim this morning. A disturbed area in the central, southern hemisphere providing the most interest. I have been trying AS!3 and iMPPG to get some practice. Not with a great deal of success. See attached "splodge." 150/8 x 1.125GPC, D-ERF, PST mods, ASI174mm.

There is always the danger that those who struggle against the odds will come to the conclusion that they will never be able to compete and give up. Which is precisely why I post my solar "daubs" here. I openly laugh at my results with my post titles to encourage others to post. If that "bumbling idiot" is willing to publicly humiliate himself than why not "me too?" Which is why it is so vitally important to encourage others who do have the courage to post their efforts. Almost every hobby and pastime has its entry level investment in equipment. Beyond that the sky is often the limit. There are always those who can and will invest in "power" shortcuts to achieve admiration. Others are just naturals with special gifts. The vast majority lie midway in skill level, ability and investment but have no desire to win any races. It is the activity itself and pleasure of ownership of nice equipment which satisfies them. They may like a narrow speciality that appeals. Remember that there are tens thousands of amateurs around the globe with fine equipment but without the will or desire to compete. With astrophotography and imaging you do at least have the chance to compete on the software side. You can really develop your processing skills to compete at a level to satisfy your own investment in time and building competence. You can and must use "best practice" with your more limited equipment to have any chance of competing. Or you can make everything you possibly can within your skill level, tools and budget. A "slapdash" or DIY approach, like my own, will take far longer to rise through the ranks to achieve even modest success. Set your own sites carefully and know where you are going. Do not go into debt just to satisfy your cravings for recognition. The cyclist with the most expensive bike rarely wins. It is the thoughtful and [probably] OCD rider who trains and trains. They study and practice and exercise every aspect to hone their abilities, stamina and fitness well above the average. Their investment is in time and effort. Not spending huge sums on "trinkets."

Thanks Dave. It was extremely active to the SW of the "spot." Almost a "bubbles" effect. Or inverted "hollows?" I believe AR2752 has now been downgraded as inactive.

Outstanding value, I'd say! Because they get lessons in life, morality, sharing and astronomy all bundled in with the "educational toys."

Tracer bullets aimed at the ISS?

Nicely done!

Absolutely stunning results!

Brief sunshine after lunch provided a chance to capture the new AR. 150/1200 x 1.125 GPC, D-ERF, PST, ZWOASI174, 40% of 500fr in SharpCap, Registax6, Photofiltre7.

Quote: QOTD #18: "Astronomers, like burglars and jazz musicians, operate best at night." - Miles Kington As a practising solar imager [4th Class] and Nyctophobic [White Belt] I take exception to being so excluded. It takes all sorts! Good post, BTW.

When the Hyades are as near as the Moon we'll have more than a bit of frost to contend with. A. Pedant

I'm a martyr to the 1%.

And then they started reproducing... to the point where the Earth grew dark and increasingly frosty!

It seems a bit extreme putting so many satellites up there just to provide a few sunspots for impatient solar imagers. My sun is a magnet for airliners. Hardly a day passes when one or two do not fly across "upside down." "Fasten your seatbelts," takes on a whole new meaning! Returning to the subject matter. Who pays for the Internet when the "advertising bubble" bursts? What happens when the cost of the bandwidth for ads, trackers and cookies greatly exceeds global income from all advertising sales? Supersaturation by ads is already highly stressful for many browsers despite add blockers. Myself included! Trackers and cookies are running into the tens of thousands, per day, for quite ordinary, Internet users! I am so sick of ads that I will never buy anything [ever again] which is spammed onto my screen.- Not without my personal invitation and button confirmed permission. Time for a Freedom From Advertising Movement!

Commercial filters usually have the advantage of greater neatness and hopefully easy fitting and security against falling off in the wind. The solar foil filters are considered to be optically superior to glass filters provided the foil is slightly wavy. Commercial or DIY, you don't want a perfectly smooth, foil filter. Baader tells you this in their instructions. I found suitable donor objects for supporting my foil, over suitably large holes and they have lasted for years. My 180mm has a modified, aluminium baking pan which fits over the objective cell with foam lining for security. The 90mm is just a detergent bottle cut short [100mm/4"] and the foil taped over the outer end. It slips over the dewshield. When not in use I keep them both standing foil upwards in clear plastic food containers. That way I can see how ugly they are but can't lose them! Hold the filter up to the sun before use and move it about to look for pinholes or damage. Pinholes won't blind you but will lower contrast in use. I like to be reminded how small the sun is in the sky and whether there are any naked eye sunspots. It's probably an age thing.

You are much too modest. Nice capture!

I believe that such foil needs an air gap of at least an inch [25mm] to function correctly as a radiant reflector. Placing it tightly against metal [or anything else] will only form a thin conductor or thin insulator depending entirely on the properties of the material. In building work it is usually [or should be] sandwiched between well spaced battens to provide the necessary air gap. No air gap means no reflectance. It would be like expecting our reflecting telescopes to work with the mirror cover still in place.

You seem to have it all nicely worked out. Notwithstanding your thoughtful response and without wishing to push you any further in this direction: Have you asked your blacksmith if he can source thin aluminium sheet? It is readily available online in all sizes but delivery to a private address can be quite costly. Metal sheeting, which is insulated from below, is likely to become even hotter. Baking your timber structure may reduce its lifespan. Which aluminium will avoid.

Nice build! Despite being "shiny," galvanized steel soaks up a lot of heat from the sun. As does shiny stainless steel. I did some tests of shiny samples of metal sheet in the sun. Aluminium was by far the coolest and lightest. I had a shed with a 4-6" thick, concrete roof which was unbearably hot in summer. Leaked in the winter. So I laid flat sheets of thin aluminium from a scrap yard on top and fixed it down around the edges. This tamed the heat problem immediately. Nor did it ever leak or drip with condensation again. Rubber pond liner, which Gina mentioned, is affordable, UV stabilised and long lived. No idea of its thermal qualities but I have used it as a flexible dome skirt. I second Peter's concern on wind lift in "mid flight." You need hooked retainers to stop lift.

Very crisp!