ScouseSpaceCadet

I bought a used PX35C ccd camera without installation discs, so I emailed Opticstar asking if they could help. Within 20 minutes George at www.opticstar.com replied with the necessary information. Great service. Thanks George.

To be fair to the unfortunate education assistant, this is probably the same scenario. Just terrible journalism and/or clickbait. Another sad truth is millions of people do not know that bright star they see for months is Jupiter. It's the same with the stupid full moon stories. The number of colleagues and family who read those then strike up an excited conversation with me about the Orange Squash Moon drives me mental. They're all surprised when I tell them it's nonsense, I don't really care and the bloody thing prevents me observing the good stuff! Every single time there's one of those, someone will cheerily bring it up! I've turned into the full moon grinch.

Either the journo wasn't taking much notice down the pub or I fear for our youth! They would have got a better answer popping to a park.

That's a disappointment. Not to worry. ☹️ It must be a cultural thing. Up here, "handbag" is all encompassing, used to describe various types of bag, for instance a shoulder bag, cross the body, clutch, clasp, etc. For example the missus may be found scrambling around frantically and ask, "Where's me 'andbag?" when referring to the particular bag used that week which could be any of the styles above and more... 😀

Just say what it is. It's a handbag for men... Link please. I need to check they have them in light brown to match my astro boots, or should I go for biege, maybe a completely different colour for contrast? Why is being on trend sooo complicated?! 😉

I've managed the Cassini Division in all my scopes, from the first 130p newtonian to the current Skymax 102 and 102mm ED refractor. Although 102mm is the lowest aperture I've owned. I'd guess in your case it's a combination of poor seeing, just barely enough aperture and old eyes! 😉 I imagine local light pollution would also be a factor. If a street lamp is in the direction you're looking through the scopes that won't help. Likewise viewing over buildings. However I'm sure you already know that. Also remember since 2017 Saturn's full tilt of 27° seen from Earth is decreasing until 2025 when they gradually return to full tilt in 2032. We all just need to stay alive until then!

If I see these wobbly lights I'll be grabbing a towel and quickly drinking two pints.

Pants aint it? According to CO I've apparently recently been upgraded to Bortle 7! (SQM still 18.84 though... 🙄)

"Messier 31 to the naked eye..." If only... Last week I joined extended family for a few nights in West Wales... The one good hour of clear skies was fantastic. On the 11th, leaving the pub I shielded my eyes from a street lamp and looked up. The Milky Way! Of course like an astronomical evangelical nut case I stopped the merry group and had them all looking up. "Block that light with yer left hand and look up. Do youse see it?! The Milky Way!". Followed by a succession of, "Ooohs", "Oh yeah", "Great", "Smashin'" etc... A couple of meteors spotted immediately and the sky filled with stars. I could see the whole of Hercules! Back at the Caravan the 10x50s and a camping chair were hastily grabbed and I sat out. Half a dozen more meteors, the whole of M31 showing great, wow M13 is massive and so on! The best hour's astronomy I've had for a while despite being a bit erm... merry... Nice report John I'm tad envious. 😀 (Do you need a quaint northern butler?) 😉

Yes they shouldn't be complaining about clouds with all that spare time to sit at computers intently watching progress bars move, fiddling with sliders and whatnot... I'll get my coat...

So right Noodles... Although the lack of clear nights doesn't stop one becoming immersed in the hobby. Astronomy simply isn't a quick fix and how much time it uses up really depends on how far a person wishes to take things. Three years in and the surface has barely been scratched. There's plenty of background material to read and study. Going further, there's courses to pick from short certificates to degrees and beyond. Understanding what I'm looking at, how it got there and the object's relationship with its surroundings really adds to the 'Wow' moments. Currently I'm ploughing through Universal: A Journey Through the Cosmos , Observer's Guide to Variable Stars (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series) and Galaxies, Stars and Planets (OU Free Course). Let's not forget those Astro imagers who manage a good few hours under the stars have all that cloudy down time to process data and refine their results.

Rain and cloud forecast here until at least Monday 23rd August. It's time to break out the Tiddlywinks...

Unlucky. Nice set up though. 😀 I'm in Ceredigion and the forecast was for clear skies so four pints of bitter and out of the pub. Fantastic. The Milky Way easily visible when I shielded my eyes from the occasional street light. The first time I stood still and whoosh, two Perseids. Hunkering down in a camping chair with the 10x50s and a sobering flask of tea I was cocker hoop. A nice view of M31 and while taking a peek at Jupiter as the planet rose above a forest, whoosh, another meteor flashes through the binocular fov. This is gonna be some night if I can stay awake... Sitting back drinking tea, whoosh again x2... Oooo.. All observed meteors roughly shooting s/sw from Perseus. Another scan with the 10x50s along the MW and then bahhh, flipping unforecast cloud rolls in over the hills from the south and over an hour later isn't shifting. 🙄

https://gostargazing.co.uk/regions/north-west-england/ Scroll up to the Lakes on the map and click on the pins. There's several dark car parks listed.

Very nice. Congrats Stu. Do you need a butler? I know the difference between a fish knife and dessert spoon, and cook a mean bacon and egg butty (sausage on alternating days). At night an astronomy caddy, 'Will Sir be using alt az tonight?'. Go on, impress your friends with a northern servant!

The best I could do was read between the lines and realising the satellite isn't a 'giant billboard' in LEO and knowing Cubesats are are actually tiny. The company involved is here: https://www.geometricspace.ca/ EDIT:Cubesat: https://www.cubesat.org/cubesatinfo https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cubesats/index.html

There isn't a reliable source to be found stating Elon Musk "wants to launch" a giant billboard to anywhere. A massive pinch of salt is required... The report first appeared in Business Insider and the rest of the rags put their own filthy spin on it. The ad is designed to be filmed using a 'selfie stick' and broadcast to youtube. It's not like there's going to be giant lettering in the sky... On the other hand this is massively impressive: https://mobile.twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1423685209640226817/photo/1 The rocket array... https://mobile.twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1423041198764265473/photo/3 Reminiscent of the failed Soviet N1 lunar launcher.

No fancy poses 'ere... A very rough polar and one star alignment then straight to Saturn before the clouds hit. First time out with an EQ mount. 😀 (Edit)Well the clouds rolled in so fancy pose added...🙄

Amen... Nice pics an' all that, but how much again?!!! 😬

I've owned the Skymax 102 for sixteen months and it has out lived two other telescopes. As far as I could tell it arrived in perfect collimation and remains so despite a couple of camping trips, a couple of caravan holidays and extensive garden use when I couldn't be bothered setting up the other kit. It lives in a padded camera bag bought from Amazon and I'm considering selling it because the 10x50s get used a lot when I'm away. I just can't make my mind up though. For their size and price the Skymax does give a lot back in return and it's a handy scope for quickly plonking on a mount and getting going, including solar with a filter.

The Borg certainly looks 'the biz', but I'd have to sell my car to buy it... 🙄 The Skymax 102 has done the job for me when car camping, caravanning etc. Although I'm starting to think the best travel 'scope' may be 10x50 binoculars...

Ahhhh. 😀

Admirable optimism!

Mr. Musk has taken a Youtuber on a grand tour of the Boca Chica facility...

The great British weather does test us... I'm supposed to be off to a place near Aberystwyth during the week for a few nights. Bortle 4, no moon, a good Perseid forecast and probably cloud... 🙄