wulfrun

Apparently NASA sent an erroneous command to Voyager 2, which caused its dish to mis-align from Earth. It might re-set in October...hopefully. Embarrassing I suppose! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-66371569

Superglue is relatively weak and doesn't age well outdoors either. I would not trust it for anything of value. Slow-setting epoxy would do the trick but why not drill it, then use a rawlplug and a bolt? Much more secure. That's assuming you're really convinced the boulder idea is workable.

The folks down-under are getting bothered by this too, came across this on ABC: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-09/elon-musk-starlink-interfering-in-scientific-work/102575480

Took advantage of the discount, cheers FLO! Nice try with the "clear skies" sticker, better luck next time. Looks like it'll be staying in the box for a while, based on forecasts 😞

Same here. I've messaged Grant about it, hopefully something easily fixed and he can have a rest!

Can't offer any opinion on that one, others will have to advise. Mine's the Baader Classic Q, which seems pretty good. Saying that, I've only used it for visual and casual-snap type things and not for serious AP. My only criticism of it is that the removeable elements are threaded on the "wrong" end, in my opinion. Means it's limited to eyepieces that have a recess, when used directly on them. Not relevant here though and might even be advantageous for it to sink into the nosepiece.

Barlow is a candidate, as is wobbly atmospherics. Mirrors, afaik, can't cause it.

Different scopes but I can get my Panny G9 (m4/3) to focus using a t-adapter/nosepiece and a 2.25x barlow. I can also reach focus with the barlow elements screwed into the nosepiece directly (1.3x??), since mine has the removeable ones. Scopes that I've tried it in are a 114mm, 500mm FL, f4 and 150mm, 1200mm FL, f8. Yes, I know it's spectacularly useless with the f8 but it can reach focus. Your Olympus should do likewise. HTH

2.205 I believe! 1lb = 454g. I shall hide my face in shame if that's wrong! Slip of the digits?

I don't think you can use a space blanket as a solar filter, despite what you may think. The film sold for that is aluminised on both sides, meaning a pinhole in the coating on both sides in the same place is nearly impossible. Space blankets are aluminised on one side, as far as I can see. That leaves a serious risk.

Can't promise I'm right but...would that be the antenna wire for the radio? In which case, the free end is meant to be free!

First off, you mean "observable universe" i.e. what we can actually see, in theory at least. The universe is thought to be infinite. The reason it's 93 billion ly (or whatever the currrent estimate is) is because the universe is expanding and has been all throughout time. So things that were far away are now even further - but when light left them they were near enough to be within the "observable" distance.

Spotted this on beeb, not noticed a thread about it and it's news to me: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65061818 Due closest pass by the moon Saturday night. It'll miss the moon & Earth (fortuitously for us!). They're saying binocular visibility.

Since no-one else has answered...I don't see any reason why a Mak would be "incompatible" with a solar filter. If you're getting good views of the moon etc and not of the sun with the filter, logically the filter is defective in some way. I have no experience of that filter to guess how though! You can buy solar film in A4 sheets and make your own. The sheets come with detailed instructions on how to make your filter and it's probably about the cheapest option. With a bit of care, it'll be just as good as a ready-made one, if not quite as neat. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/solar-filters/baader-astrosolar-safety-film-nd-50.html Or https://www.firstlightoptics.com/solar-filters/explore-scientific-solarix-a4-solar-filter-film.html

Even better, the Telrad may actually work, if fitted the right way round! 🙂

No, you're quite correct and no mistake. Methinks they're dreaming or hoping for a clueless mug!

The ZX81 isn't worth anywhere near that, they must be in cloud cuckoo land! A lot were made, they are far from rare. Were you actually looking at a ZX80? They are nearer hen's-teeth price. I still have mine (ZX81), although it has a home-made internal 32K memory mod and yes, it does still work.

I use one, not just for planets. It's gven me some good detail on the gas-giants and on Mars, conditions permitting. I often use it for "general" observing anyway, providing the target isn't too big. It can nearly fit the Pleiades or both Perseus double-clusters in the FOV with a 32mm Plössl. Good for splitting doubles too and does well with "lesser" eyepieces.

Two things immediately obvious: first, it's a 13A and shouldn't be and secondly it doesn't appear to have blown. Meaning, the lead/fault acted as the "fuse". A fuse should always be equal to or lower than the wire-rating of the lead and that's not 13A wire! I don't recall ever opening up a BS-rated 13A fuse, can't comment if the construction is as expected. EDIT: it's a common misconception that the fuse is there to protect the appliance. It isn't. The sole purpose of the fuse in the plug is to prevent overload of the wiring. If the appliance requires further protection, fuse(s) should be within the appliance.

Don't overlook the OVL Nirvana range (82-degree). I only own the 16mm but it's very good value and performs well. I think @Mr Spock owns the full set and might comment if the others are as good.

This may or may not help. On my 6D, if I go into the "Live View" menu, then "AF method" and select "Live Mode" (it has a kind of smiley with an 'L' as the nose), then the AF-area rectangle appears only whilst half-pressing the shutter and otherwise goes away. I can also make it toggle on/off with the "Set" button in the same mode. Toggling it on also re-sets it to centre-screen. EDIT: seems to be what @Franklin is saying, above.

Not familiar with that particular camera but...if AF is on, how else can you see and determine where it's intending to focus? Turning AF off will get rid of it (along with AF function, of course). On my 6D, in live-view, it's there with AF on and gone with no AF, which makes sense to me.

Yes, adjusting the mirrors will make a small difference to the finder, not usually much though. The finder is adjustable so you can just re-align it, Polaris makes the ideal target for that since it moves so little. If you're going to have another go at collimation though, maybe live with the finder for now?

Yes...but there's always the difficulty of the angle the camera was or might have been at, so it could look better (or worse) than it is. Assuming the camera was central, it's better but not right. If I were in your shoes, I'd just use it for a while and take the time to re-read and absorb the principles before any more fiddling. That's not being unkind, most of us have been there! Amazing what a break from a task can achieve. Also remember that the difference between "close" and "perfect" is unlikely to be noticed in real-life usage on visual astronomy. When you do tackle it again, aim for "perfect" but accept "close", don't obsess.

Spot-on, yes much easier to do than describe in words. Once you get the idea behind it it does make sense. There's a multitude of adjustments on two mirrors, so it's not hard to get confused over what does what. Also easy to read too many guides & watch all the videos and make yourself more confused. Time for a pause if you've got there!