Society for Popular Astronomy

Calsky.com have closed their website down after 20 years of service to the astro community. Their statement says that it was no longer financially viable.

I am sorry to see it go. Although I was an infrequent user, when I needed it I found it extremely useful.

Just a snapshot with the Lumix TZ18:
At the same time, noted that Orion and his retinue were already well into the SW skies. The eastern skies now looking forward to spring

£90 million? a piffling amount compared to the money that is being thrown about at present, an actually only another £30million needs to be found

I would add that any new telescope requires time and "practice" to get the best from it. This applies to all observers, irrespective of their age and experience. One beginners comment seen again and again is that the planets look extremely small in the telescope eyepiece , even giant Jupiter. The de...

Hi Bob. It is these shaky EQ heads that make me suggest an alt-az mounting, especially for a beginner. To be honest, I think a modern driven alt-az mount has so much going for it that small equatorial heads may have had their day. That said, I have a 102mm f5 Helios refractor on an EQ1 head with a s...

In the future the far side of the Moon will be designated an international landfill site and our rubbish will be dumped there.....
wait a mo' , didn't "Space1999" use that scenario

Hello Kay. I'll stick my neck out and suggest that you should go for a medium-sized refractor telescope on some sort of alt-azimuth mounting. I suggest a refractor because the optical system should be stable over time and not require the "constant" fettling that reflectors require to keep them in al...

Hi Kay,

what telescope do you have then?

regards,

No offence taken Brian

[quote="brian livesey" . Laws can operate in curious ways ... .
[/quote]

just ask Boris

Sorry, should more properly have written
"They claim that the putative "bugs" which produce phosphine (if they exist) live in the planets atmosphere, in a realm where the temperature doesn't exceed about 93C

Must keep the funding coming in don't you think?

They claim that these "bugs" live in the planets atmosphere, in a realm where the temperature doesn't exceed about 93C

quote <The best evidence for life beyond Earth has been found in the most surprising of places – the atmosphere of Venus.>end quote

In the News today, or from:

https://astronomynow.com/2020/09/14/pos ... -on-venus/

Great stuff! I love it when a plan comes together

regards

What you describe with your finderscope is not uncommon when you are beginning observing. You might get on better with a "zero-magnification" red-dot finder such as the Telrad ( other similar models are available at a range of prices , check astro-suppliers :) ). Many observers do mount both standar...