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I guess I'm glad I missed it then. I think it has become less amateur observing-orientated since Sir Patrick passed. I miss those days and "Newsletter time" 😢

Maybe it's something hush-hush if you're finding it hard to source info

If stars look hairy now, you'll know who to blame!

In time - honoured fashion it's been cloudy except for when I'm working or Moon been full or much too low down for me! ? I was wanting to enter too.

A mirrorless might be worth looking at. There's no mirror slap to cause shake. If Canon ones are like the Olympus ones, the shutter is entirely electronic, just like with dedicated astro cameras, but they undoubtedly have IR filters over the sensors. Then of course, there's the QE which isn't as good as dedicated, but newer cameras by Canon, and other makes have much better noise performance than your old 300D and 350D.

Didn't I hear on the news it was going to be the first optical light image of a black hole? Looks like a radio interferometer "image" mapped out on a screen to me! Or a doughnut fresh out of the fryer... You take your pick, but I'm pretty underwhelmed considering the hype and insane expense involved! Maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age. I know it's one heck of a long way away, but that's what very long baseline interferometers are good at; sheer resolution power.

I got exact same one of those a few months ago. Work, low sun and weather here has conspired against me playing with it yet, not to mention that there's not much going on in white light on the sun right now ?

I wonder how good that'll look with a small LED light shining up from under the centre ?

You know how a pair of headphones can be used as a basic stereo microphone? By the same methods display screens can capture images too. See what people can come up with using crt and flat screens. That'll make for some interesting images!

Got to agree that the softcase isn't much use for protection against knocks and a peli is probably the best thing there, but I've pretty much run out of room for yet another box and I'm reluctant to store anything valuable outside.

I am thinking that I do have to do something to make removal easier and not drop the caps. Maybe a cord like paracord and superglue or hot glue based. Probably will look horrible, but it'll be to do a job that isn't just to look pretty.

I went to the camera shop in town today. Didn't have any caps that'd fit. We looked. Zilch. Nada. Then I had an idea; I asked if they had any film canisters. Kodak grey topped film canister caps fit. It's a bit of fingernail action taking them out but they work a treat! Tip: Don't push them right into the objective end, but leave them protruding enough to allow you to dig them out with your fingernail and get a couple of spares in case they go flying in the dark.

Having this coming week off and having a cheque to take into the bank, I think you've incentivised me to go down to town and visit the camera shop as well. Its not a particularly large cheque - just a few quid.

I haven't. I just keep the binos in the bag and storage case.

I have a pair of Canon IS binoculars. They're pretty good, but you've got to keep the button pressed for the IS to work, some AA's are needed and they could have been made so lens caps stay on objectives. Other than that I can't really fault them, they're nice to use, they're not that heavy and the stabilisation is a dream come true.

Beware that once they do you over, they might wait for a few months till you've replaced your valuable gear, then they'll repeat their "favour". That's a common tactic they employ.

Indeedleedeedleedoo Gina

Well, how sellable are two sets of metal legs and a wedge? People don't shell out cash for stuff they have no clue what they're are; if they did I could sell a few bridges on da tinternet! Take them apart and even most astronomers here won't recognise what they are, but scrap metal dealers would love them!

One thing NOBODY on here has considered as motive for theft, and I believe it's what my Celestron tripods ended up as, is scrap metal. They're not all smack-heads and druggies going around looking to fund their habits, but essentially professional thieves. Day before my stuff was half-inched they sent their kids around looking for scrap, I had an old aluminium ladder out in the back garden... To cut a long story short they took that ladder too. I tried ringing round some of the local scrapyards - no joy. One of the people on the phone was pretty darned nasty too tbh. I do suspect that some of these scrap metal merchants are in collusion with such thieves. ?

That is until it's located on Google Earth! ?

How did it get up there, is it a flying fox?

I know they're the same kind of thing; but I'd not mind knowing how hyperstar and fastar compare, having an 8" C8 with fastar myself. It's more just curiosity really, rather than a fanboy thing.

I know, but I'm going to have to exercise some restraint and apart from an observatory, I've amassed pretty much everything I can want. Years ago, when I was younger my stepdad built a shed with an opening roof; you can call it an observatory, but it took about three times my body weight to open the roof using the pulley... Perhaps I'll get a rolling roof one built one day, but don't hold your breath as I'm really averse to storing any of my kit outside to be stolen again.

Here's the link: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes.html It's for Bresser hexfocus scopes if that helps. I'll need to dig out my micrometer if you're really wanting the dimensions. It's quite a little brick of a thing; in that it feels well made and solid, heavy for it's size. Dimensions: 50mm long total 44mm wide - coarse focus wheel 34mm wide - fine focus wheel

Got these delivered by DPD today. Got them from FLO. Vixen SLV 10mm, 6mm and a 10:1 fine focus knob for the 6 inch frac. Just a couple of blue filters and a double set of polarisers and Perhaps a solar continuum filter and I think my astro kit buying is more or less done for the foreseeable future.