Difraction spikes = Good collimation?

[glennbech]

I did my first proper collimation of my 8" Newtonian a few days back. I haven't used it that much since I early bought a refractor doublet and DSLR; waking the path of imaging instead of visual observation. Anyhow; After the collimation process I now see diffraction spikes while looking a bright stars. I have pretty symetrical 6 way spikes when looking at let's say Vega.

I'm pretty sure I didn't see the spikes earlier. Is this a good sign or a bad sign or is it my imagination playing tricks?

[blinky]

Yep if you see diffraction spikes it means you are at perfect focus and also collimation is good

[Astronut]

It's certainly not a bad sign and I'm guessing you have a 3 vane spider.

[narrowbandpaul]

a defocussed star image should show a concentric airy disc. Make sure the star is centred to minimise any coma present